


Playing Favorites?

by Ariyana



Category: Professional Wrestling, WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Background Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Circa 2002, Circa 2003, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Don’t copy to another site, Drama, Established Relationship, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, General Manager Feud, Humor, Kayfabe Exist Sometimes, Multi, Past Relationship(s), Pregnancy, Reimagined, Romance, Ruthless Aggression Era, Smackdown Brand, The Blue Brand, Violence, scandals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-06-09 18:08:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 67,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19481233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariyana/pseuds/Ariyana
Summary: Stephanie McMahon's been riding high as the General Manager of Smackdown, but when her professional life and personal life once again collide, she must learn to find a balance between both aspects of her life. However, several people are determined to see her fail in that endeavor, including the rival General Manager of Raw and the WWE Champion of her own brand show. Nothing is sacred or remotely off limits to them as they seek to keep her and her fiancé, the Phenom of World Wrestling Entertainment, off balance and out of sync with each other. [Ruthless Aggression Era Reimagining]





	1. Family Issues

**Author's Note:**

> Okay as far as Kayfabe goes in this story, I'm using it to an extent. Mainly for Stephanie's kayfabe marriage to Triple H and her being the GM of Smackdown back in 2002, but for Undertaker, I decided to drop the past kayfabe aspect of his character. Meaning Mark Calaway the person also exists in this story and he's playing the role of the Undertaker on television. As far as the matter of Sara goes, just assumed they divorced during his early heel run of 2002. I will probably address the past at some point in the story, but that's the assumption for now. Overall Kayfabe things will pop up from time to time, but I'm attempting to blend it with real life aspects as well.
> 
> As for my other two stories involving this pairing, they are both being actively worked on and as soon as I am pleased with the chapters, both stories will be updated. On a personal note, I've had some health issues come up over the last week, so that's pretty much slowed down my computer time. But I'm still motivated to write when I can. I hope this new story also entertains, feedback is always welcomed.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie and Mark have to deal with their personal business being put out there.

It had been a few weeks since they managed to end up on the same brand again, though for the benefit of the others, they downplayed their relationship. Especially given her position as General Manager of the Smackdown brand. While it wasn’t necessarily a secret that she and the Phenom were engaged, she really didn’t want to hear any accusations of favoritism. The last thing she wanted was to hear Paul Heyman throwing around her relationship as an excuse to why the Undertaker shouldn’t be a contender for Brock’s title. He’d been looking for excuses to get Brock out of facing Taker, the moment Taker won the number one’s contender tournament.

However that would change when she happened to get hit with a bout of nausea, while sitting in her office at the arena. Immediately she ran into the private restroom and began throwing up the contents of her belly. She hadn’t even noticed when Mark peeked his head into the restroom door. “Are you okay, babe?” He asked, startling her almost out of her skin.

“Jesus!” She snapped, falling back onto the floor. He quickly knelt down beside her with an apologetic look on his face.

“Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He apologized. 

She opened her mouth to speak, but felt another wave of nausea hit her. She simply shook her head as she went right back to throwing up in the toilet again. However this time, he moved forward to hold her hair back and gently rub her back.

“Why do they call it morning sickness, if it happens throughout the whole damn day?” She finally complained as she flushed the toilet and sat back on the floor.

“Good question.” He replied, pressing a kiss to the top of her head, while still gently rubbing her back. “How long did your doctor say the nausea would last?” He asked, quite concerned for her. The main reason, he even came to her office was to check up on her, since she had been having such a bad case of morning sickness that he was worried for her health and the health of their unborn child.

“She said it usually calms down or even goes away by the second trimester. So about four more weeks to go.” She replied, slowly climbing to her feet. Though Mark was quick to hold her arm and give her support to stand up. She went over to the sink and turned on the cold tap to rinse the taste of vomit out of her mouth. Once she was done, she turned around and wrapped her arms around Mark’s waist.

He simply hugged her back, rubbing a hand over her back again. “So have you given any further thought to my question?” He asked cautiously. She stiffened in his arms, before pulling back and looking up at him with a frown.

“We’re not eloping, Mark. I’ve already done that once before and that marriage crashed and burned.” She said firmly, pulling back to look him in the eyes. 

Mark simply sighed, grasping her shoulders, before moving his hands up to cup her face. “Come on, Steph. I don’t want our child to be born a bastard and you said it yourself, you don’t want to walk down the aisle obviously pregnant.” He replied, some of his frustration with the situation showing. 

While Mark had proposed to her over the summer, before they realized they were expecting. The pregnancy had been _very_ unplanned, due to the increase of her workload and new schedule by taking over running Smackdown, she had missed an appointment to get her depo shot. By the time she had realized her mistake, it was too late, the morning sickness had hit her full force and her doctor was congratulating her on her first pregnancy. 

While Mark was extremely supportive and quite happy at the prospect of them becoming parents, there was the one sticking point between them. He wanted to get married before their child was born as he was quite conservative when it came to the idea of a child being born out of wedlock. However, Stephanie wasn’t _that_ old fashioned, while she wanted to be married to Mark, she didn’t want another haphazard speedy wedding.

“Babe, what is the big deal if we wait until after the baby is born? He or she could just be a part of the ceremony then.” She shot back. She was finally on good terms with her father and mother and both approved of Mark. It felt like a waste not to have a big wedding and really celebrate the relationship. Something that she didn’t get to do with her first marriage, which she sorely regretted. “Baby, you _know_ I love you and that I _want_ to be your wife, but I don’t want another rushed wedding. I want our day to be special and I want to share it with our close family and friends. Am I really asking for too much?” She added, her eyes growing watery as her emotions were at an all time high with the increase of her hormones.

Instinctively he pressed a kiss to her lips, before hugging her again. He didn’t want to upset her further, adding to her stress, while she was in such a delicate condition. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You know I love you too and I just want what is best for our family.” He sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I want our day to be special too. If it means that much to you to wait, then we’ll wait.” He conceded. As much as he hated the idea of their child being born out of wedlock, he didn’t want to put anymore unnecessary stress on her. 

Little did either realize that outside her office door, one Paul Heyman stood with a devious smile slowly stretching upon his face. Finally the leverage he needed to throw the Undertaker off his game had fallen right into his lap. This news was far too good not to use, especially when Taker and Brock had a face to face interview later in the evening.

xXx

Stephanie was quite grateful that the nausea had subsided enough for her to be functional when it came time to go live for Smackdown. She was keeping her pregnancy close to the belt for the time being as they hadn’t told their families and friends yet, wanting to be sure that she made it to her second trimester first. Her doctor had told her that the chances of a miscarriage were always the highest during the first three months, thus she didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up only to see them dashed.

By the time that Taker and Brock’s face to face interview came up, she firmly had her general manager facade in place as she was the moderator. Something that she would soon regret once Paul began speaking after Taker had ran down Brock’s attempts at bravado.

“My client, Brock Lesnar has a laser sharp focus, while your focus is split between business and _family_ issues.” Paul stated, causing Stephanie and Taker to stiffen in their seats.

“Paul…” She warned, unsure of where he was going but sensing that nothing good could come of it.

“What? I’m just stating facts, my client doesn’t have any potential personal issues to divide his attention.” He said, patting Brock on the shoulder.

“My attention _isn’t_ divided.” Taker said firmly, his tone taking on a menace warning Paul not to overstep that boundary.

“Oh? But aren’t you worried over what a match with my client will do to you? Let’s be honest, you really _aren’t_ as young as you used to be. I would absolutely hate to see you _crippled_ in front of your fiancee’s eyes, especially when she’s carrying your unborn child.” Paul stated, pointedly.

Stephanie barely had time to move out of the way as the table went flying and Taker and Brock were in each other’s faces. Brock being fast enough to keep Mark from trying to rip Paul’s face off.

“Guys! Save it for your match!” She snapped, trying to keep her composure even as she wanted to rip Paul’s face off herself. How did he even know about her pregnancy in the first place? Instantly she moved to grab Mark’s arm as Paul urged Brock to stand down, the two men making a hasty retreat as Stephanie gestured for the camera’s to cut. The camera crew were quick to vacant the room next, giving Stephanie and the Undertaker a moment of privacy to collect themselves.

Immediately she felt her cell phone vibrating in her pocket, she sighed as she pulled it out to see her father’s number lighting up the display. “Fuck.” She muttered as Mark looked down at her

“It’s my dad.” She said, answering the phone. “Hey daddy, is everything alright?” She asked, trying her best to act as though nothing happened.

“I just saw the segment air, Steph. Is there something you want to tell me?” Vince asked sternly.

She grimaced at his tone, immediately feeling so very angry that Paul had outed her on national television to her parents. Now they were going to think she and Mark were being secretive for nefarious reasons. “Jesus...Dad, we were going to tell you and Mom eventually.”

“Eventually? When? After you popped out the child?” He asked incredulously. 

“Oh for heaven’s sake. Stop sounding like we were plotting to keep you out of your grandchild’s life or something!” Stephanie snapped, before Mark took the phone out of her hand.

“Vince, we were going to tell all of you as soon as she was a little further along. We didn’t want to go making the announcement when she’s only a few weeks in, and especially not so soon after we announced our engagement.” Mark told him, while placing a soothing arm around Stephanie, whom he could see was slowly losing her composure.

“So how long you two known then? Linda is absolutely crushed that she had to hear the news on Smackdown and from Paul Heyman’s mouth no less!”

“We didn’t tell him, we have no idea how he even knew!” Mark snapped, wondering how Paul knew anything in the first place. “Look Vince, we still have a show to do. Can Stephanie call you back later?”

“Fine but Linda and I fully expect to see you both this week.” Vince declared, before hanging up on Mark.

“Heyman is going to die for this.” Mark declared, handing Stephanie her phone back.

“How did he even know?” She asked, tears threatening her eyes. The professional mask she had been struggling to maintain fading fast.

Mark hugged her again, doing his best to be comforting. Even as his mind was reeling over the fact Paul had hit a low blow in revealing personal details of his and Stephanie’s relationship to get Brock an edge in their upcoming match. What wouldn’t Heyman do to ensure that Lesnar kept the title? He really didn’t want to think about it, but he couldn’t help but worry over what he would do next.

“You know this means I have to whip Brock’s ass in our match. Otherwise Paul is going to think bringing you up is going to fly.” 

“I know. If you don’t squash this now, they’re going to keep taking liberties.” Stephanie replied, her expression hardening as she pulled her facade back together. “You should get ready for your match.” She added, finally pulling away from his arms.

Mark nodded, dropping a kiss to her forehead. “Now that the cat’s out of the bag, everyone is probably going to act differently toward you.” He warned, hoping that it wouldn’t throw her off balance.

“Yeah, that’s going to be annoying.” She sighed, moving forward to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Okay, now I need to start damage control. I’ll see you later.”

xXx

Stephanie had managed to make it through the rest of the show after being publicly outed by Paul Heyman without further incident. Both Paul and Brock had left the venue after the face to face interview, since Brock had wrestled his match before that interview. Inwardly she was still livid over the dirty tactic that Paul used, quite ready to send Brock into more challenging matches in order to teach them both a lesson in not messing with the boss!

Her phone rang again, though this time when she checked the display, the number was that of her sister-in-law, Marissa. “Hey, Marissa.” She answered, willing her voice to sound less strained.

“Hey there, sis. How are you holding up?” Marissa replied, a definite note of concern to her tone. 

Stephanie could immediately feel her facade cracking again. “As well as I can be at the moment. Not everyday that I have someone decide to put my personal business out there just to gain an edge in a fucking wrestling match.” She answered, unable to keep the sharpness out of her own tone.

“I’m sorry, Steph, but congratulations on the baby. You and Mark must be excited at least...right?” Marissa said, sounding cautious.

“Yeah, we are. Obviously this wasn’t something that we planned. I honestly thought that the only huge thing I would be planning this year was our wedding and then I find out that I’m pregnant.” Stephanie said, her voice slightly cracking as she felt the tears ready to overtake her again.

“Oh sweety! Please don’t cry. How far along are you?” She asked, her voice taking on a soothing tone. 

“I can’t help it. My hormones are all over the place and having our news ruined on national television isn’t helping my mood.” Stephanie spoke, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer. “I’m about eight weeks along, which was why we were waiting to say anything. I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and then have to come back with bad news if something happens.”

“Oh Steph, I told Shane pretty much the same thing, when he questioned why you and Mark hadn’t said anything sooner. When you get back to Greenwich, you and I need to have lunch. Then we can have girl talk and you can fill me in on everything.” Marissa spoke, using her elder sister knows best voice. 

Stephanie couldn’t help but smile, Marissa had been like a sister to her since she and Shane had started dating, when they were in high school together. The elder woman had always been there for her through many rough times with sage advice and a shoulder for Stephanie to cry on when things went wrong.

“Thanks sis. I may need your help in smoothing things over with my parents. Dad called me earlier, pretty much livid, acting as though I planned on hiding his grandchild from him indefinitely.” Stephanie partly joked, wiping her tears away.

“How dramatic of him.” Marissa laughed. “I’m sure once he calms down, he’ll realize you guys weren’t trying to be malicious. You were just being cautious. Though next time, maybe consider letting me in your secret sooner rather than later. If something happens, you know I want to be there to support you.”

“Next time? You already predicting more nieces or nephews?” Stephanie laughed, not even sure if she wanted to have more children after the one she was currently carrying. Especially since her little bundle was already making her so very miserable.

“Yes, I can’t see you or Mark not wanting more once you meet the little one that you are carrying now.” Marissa giggled. “I can’t wait to be an Aunt. I am so going to spoil my niece or nephew rotten!”

“I bet you will.” Stephanie replied, more tears forming in her eyes as she felt a slight relief overcome her. Suddenly her office door open and Mark came walking in. Upon seeing the tears in her eyes, he frowned, but she lightly shook her head to let him know she was okay. “I gotta go, sis. Mark’s ready to leave the arena.”

“Wait! Please put my future brother-in-law on the phone! I gotta speak to him.” Marissa demanded, before Stephanie could hang up.

“Marissa wants to speak to you.” Stephanie said, holding out the phone to Mark. He took the phone without hesitation.

“Hey there, Risa. Am I due a lecture?” He greeted, jokingly.

“Hey Mark, I just wanted to congratulate the dad to be!” Marissa said warmly, causing Mark to instantly smile and chuckle. “I know you’re going to be a wonderful father. Stephanie is lucky to have you in her life.”

“Thanks, you always seem to know the right thing to say.” He joked, his tone as warm as hers. While he had been acquainted with her through work for a long time, it wasn’t until he and Stephanie started dating that he and Marissa had grown close as friends. “Though I think I’m the lucky one here.” He added, glancing over to Stephanie with a loving gaze.

“Alright, I’ll let you two go, so you can leave the arena. Tell Steph, I’ll call her tomorrow.” Marissa said sweetly.

“Will do, goodbye Risa.” He replied, before hanging up the phone and handing it back to Stephanie. “She said, she’d call you tomorrow.”

“Are you coming back to Greenwich with me tomorrow?” Stephanie asked, slowly climbing to her feet. While the pair were engaged to be married, they both still maintain separate residences in different states. It was mainly due to logistics, since Stephanie worked for TitanSports and needed to live in Connecticut for work, while maintaining a heavy travel schedule due to being in charge of Smackdown.

“Yeah, your dad demanded to see both of us, this week. So I’ll go home to Texas next week.” He replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Which reminds me, would you mind if I brought the dogs up to Greenwich? Since I spend more time in Connecticut than I do in Texas nowadays.”

“Of course, I don’t mind. I miss not getting to see the boys more often.” Stephanie replied, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Let's get out of here." She added, quite ready to get out of the arena. The day had been far too trying, she just wanted to go back to the hotel and wind down.

Mark merely nodded as he picked up her briefcase off the desk and led her out the door.

xXx 

It had been a couple of days since Stephanie's pregnancy had been unceremoniously announced on national television. Finally she and Mark were having lunch with her parents in an attempt to smooth things over with her dad. Thankfully Linda had already forgiven them for keeping the secret, which Stephanie was grateful for.

"Come on, dad. There's no reason to be upset with us. It's not our fault that Paul ruined our surprise. We really don't know how he found out in the first place." Stephanie sighed.

“Could he have overheard you two talking at any point?” Linda asked, cutting her husband off from beating a dead horse.

At her mother’s question, Stephanie opened her mouth, but immediately fell silent as she looked over to Mark. He sighed as the same thought had crossed his mind, the arena walls weren’t always the thickest and they had discussed the baby and prospect of getting married sooner rather than later the same day that Paul had outed them.

“He must have overheard us earlier that day, otherwise he would have said something sooner. That’s just the way he is.” Mark replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was on him, he should have known better than trying to talk to Stephanie at the venue, but with her feeling sick he had honestly forgotten himself.

“What’s done is done. Now that everyone knows it is going to put a bullseye on your back. The sharks are going to smell the blood in the water.” Vince said, finally getting over himself to see another concern looming. “Paul Heyman isn’t going to be your only worry, Steph.”

Her back stiffened as she knew he was right. The others were going to see her being pregnant as her being weak. It certainly didn’t help that her hormones were still going haywire.

“Yeah, I know I’m going to have to deal with Bischoff taking more shots at me.” Stephanie said, shaking her head.

“I swear I will lay him out if he puts his hands on you." Mark interjected, he left Raw because of Bischoff in the first place. No way he wouldn’t intervene if Bischoff tried to get too familiar with Stephanie.

"At some point you're going to have to step down from running Smackdown Steph." Vince chimed in. "You've been doing a great job, but that schedule isn't going to work for a new mom."

"He is right, obviously you're fine to keep working at Titan Towers." Linda added, giving her daughter a sympathetic stare.

She and Mark exchanged glances as they both knew the subject of her stepping down would come up. It was inevitable. Though in truth, she didn't want to give up Smackdown just yet.

"I still want the reins to Smackdown." She said frankly, surprising both her mother and father. "I'm willing to go behind the scenes but I've put too much work into it to leave to someone else to destroy."

"Come on, Steph. You're going to burn yourself out if you try to keep up the traveling schedule with caring for an infant." Vince said equally as frankly.

“It’s not as if she’s taking care of the baby alone.” Mark pointed out, reminding him of his presence at the table and the fact that he’s the father of Stephanie’s child.

Stephanie placed a hand on Mark’s wrist, giving it a squeeze as certainly she hadn’t forgotten. Linda couldn’t help but smile at the pair, quickly remembering why she ultimately approved of the relationship in the first place.

“Sorry Mark, I wasn’t trying to imply she was on her own. However my comment still stands because your schedule isn’t that much better than hers. Yeah, your house show schedule has gone down a little, but you are still highly in demand.” Vince replied, frankly.

“Vince, you aren’t saying anything that we haven’t discussed. You know first hand how determined we both are, and we both know our limitations. I don’t think it is too much to ask for you to give us a chance to show we can handle this.” Mark said in all seriousness.

“You’re right. I do know how capable you both are, but you can’t blame me for being concerned. We are talking about my grandbaby here.” Vince said, holding up his hands in surrender.

“Trust us, dad. We got this.” Stephanie said flatly.

“Well not to fully change the subject, but what about your wedding? Are you still planning for next spring?” Linda asked as she was still supposed to be helping her daughter along with Marissa to plan said event.

“I’m actually due in April, so I’m thinking maybe next fall instead. So I have a little time to drop my baby weight and get properly fitted for a gown.” Stephanie replied, even as Mark slightly frowned but otherwise remained silent.

“Alright, so that means, we’re also planning a baby shower? Some time in between the Wrestlemania madness?” Linda questioned, her expression softening.

Stephanie chuckled, still inwardly wishing that they had been able to do the announcement properly. Since she wanted to be able to see the reactions of both her and Mark’s families and Paul Heyman’s big mouth had robbed her of that. It sunk one thing for her, she was going to make him pay.

xXx

As they walked into the front door of Stephanie’s house in Greenwich, Stephanie let out a large sigh. “Well at least we got my parents squared away. Should we be worried about yours?” She asked, knowing that he had a few phone calls over the last couple of days.

“No, my folks were way more understanding of the situation, but I did have to promise my mom, we’d spend Thanksgiving with them.” He chuckled, pulling his fiancee into his arms.

“That sounds fair, hopefully the little one will have decided not to make me puke my guts up several times a day, by then.” Stephanie joked, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips. “Though do you think your family might want to do a family dinner at your house in Texas sometime sooner?” She asked, very much wanting to make sure his family felt included.

“Probably, I can’t see why they wouldn’t, but are you sure you want to add more stuff to your already busy plate?” Mark replied, definitely worried about her overstressing herself.

“It’ll be fine, I still feel bad that we didn’t get to do what we were originally planning. So I’d at least want to see their faces before Thanksgiving.”

Mark’s grip on her waist slightly tightened, his own annoyance over the situation briefly showing. “Sweetheart, I promise I’m going to make Heyman and Lesnar pay for putting our business out there.”

“I got your back on this one. They won’t be getting any favors from me.” Stephanie replied, not even giving a damn if she was going to get called bias. They should have thought about that before involving her directly in their mind games.

“Just promise me, you won’t let them physically draw you in. I don’t trust them not to try and jeopardize your health.” He said frankly, pulling her back to look her in the eyes.

“I promise, babe. You know I wouldn’t willingly risk our child’s life.” She said, looking just as serious. “I’ll let you handle the physical stuff.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to add that I enjoy the what ifs of Stephanie McMahon/The Undertaker as a pairing. I've been wanting to do a pregnancy storyline with them, but I didn't feel it would fit into either of my other two stories featuring them. So this one was born, since I have been rewatching the first feud between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar as well as Stephanie McMahon and Eric Bischoff's GM feud.


	2. Commitment Issues?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just when Stephanie thinks that she's scored a small win over Heyman and Lesnar, a new threat creeps up on her.

Stephanie could hear the whispers as she walked toward her office in the arena, most of the guys weren’t sure how to act around her. While things had been on the awkward side when she was just the fiancee of the Undertaker, now things were feeling far more strained with the added knowledge that she was carrying his unborn child. Just when she had started to get most of them to see her as the boss of the show. The moment she made it into her office, there was a knock on the door. Before she could say anything Rico dressed to the nines for the commitment ceremony of Billy and Chuck with a cameraman on his heels walked into her office.

“Oh hey Rico, you’re looking sharp. Are you and the guys ready for tonight?” She asked, trying her best to be supportive of the three men and their situation.

“Yes and no, I was still wondering if you might reconsider attending the ceremony.” He asked, trying to keep a calm demeanor.

Stephanie frowned, while she wanted to be supportive, she just didn’t see it as a good idea to attend the ceremony as nothing good had ever happened to her at one of the televised weddings. Both of hers had been utter flops. “Rico, I don’t really have a good track record with these types of televised events. My ex-husband humiliated me back in February in a televised wedding remember?” She reminded him, unconsciously placing a hand on her stomach area.

Rico’s eyes wandered to the hand on her stomach, immediately reminded that she was pregnant with the Undertaker’s baby. However he kept his expression neutral. “Stephanie, please. I really need your help! The flowers aren’t here yet, the singers are late, and if I don’t have another official witness, the minister might not perform the ceremony! I realize you had bad luck, but look at you now! You’re engaged again! Surely you know how much a time like this means to Billy and Chuck! You’re going to walk down the aisle again yourself, right?”

Stephanie sighed, appreciating that while he brought up her engagement, that he chose to leave the name of the groom out, despite everyone knowing the identity of her fiance. “Yes, but we aren’t doing a televised wedding.” Stephanie explained, trying to keep her resolve to stay away.

“Please, you have to stand with us. You’ve been the most supportive of their relationship. I don’t know if anyone else even cares to help us!” He pleaded, hoping to play on her emotions.

Stephanie inhaled sharply, slowly letting out a sigh. “Alright, I’ll do it.” She relented against her better judgement. 

Immediately Rico moved forward to grasp her hand, placing a kiss to the top of it. “Thank you! You’re a Saint, Stephanie!” He replied, before heading out the door with the cameraman in toll.

Stephanie leaned back into her chair with a heavy sigh, hoping she wouldn’t regret agreeing to be a witness at the ceremony. Though her moment of silence was short lived when Mark walked into her office sans the cameraman, thankfully. However he looked less than pleased as he shut the door behind himself.

“Was that a good idea? You are kinda putting yourself in a dangerous position agreeing to go out there for their ceremony.” Mark questioned, sounding more than a little paranoid.

“They needed another witness, Mark.” She defended, preparing herself for a verbal spar with the love of her life. While they could agree on most things, when they disagreed, things could get volatile. 

“Then maybe they should have thought about that before setting up their ceremony in a week!” Mark snapped, not entirely convinced that Billy and Chuck were actually gay. His gut was telling him they were being attention whores instead. Especially since he had known both men to spend some serious money while in the strip clubs back in the day.

Before Stephanie could retort, her office door opened again as Matt Hardy came through the door with a cameraman on his heels. Mark immediately glared at Matt, quite pissed that he and Stephanie were being interrupted. He couldn’t care less about the cameraman’s presence at this point.

“What the hell do you want?” He snapped at Matt.

“Whoa, Taker! I didn’t realize you were here, you usually don’t hang out with Stephanie while she’s doing her General Manager duties!” Matt remarked, holding his hands up in a surrender pose, playing ignorant to having seen Taker storm into Stephanie’s office in the first place.

“That’s not an answer to my question!” Taker growled, grabbing Matt by the collar of his shirt.

“There’s no need to get snippy!” Matt huffed, swatting Taker’s hand away. The cocky young man refusing to let himself be intimidated by the Dead man. He had taken enough ass whoopings from Taker to know he could survive and he had an ace in the hole this time around.

“Gentlemen!” Stephanie snapped, not in the mood to be playing babysitter at the moment. Taker stood down only because of her tone as she turned her attention to Matt. “What did you need, Matt?” She asked, firmly.

“I was just coming to ask for a match tonight, but since Taker’s so hyped up maybe he wants to be my opponent!” Matt challenged, stepping up into Taker’s face. “It seems like you could use a Mattitude adjustment!”

“Boy if you don’t…” Taker started, but Stephanie quickly cut him off.

“That sounds like a good idea to me. You two are up next!” Stephanie replied, shooting a glare at Mark daring him to test her in front of the camera.

“Be prepared to get your ass busted, kid!” Taker replied, shooting his own glare back at Stephanie before storming out of the office. He wasn’t finished with their conversation by a long shot, but he knew better than to undermine her authority, especially while the cameras were running.

“We’ll see who busts whose ass!” Matt scoffed, storming out after him with the cameraman right behind him.

Stephanie slumped in her chair, before running a hand through her hair. “I swear, little one, your daddy is so stubborn.” She spoke softly to her belly, resting her hand on midsection again.

xXx

He was still irritated as he made his way back to his locker room to finish changing since Stephanie saw fit to put into an impromptu match with Matt Hardy. They would definitely be having words later as he still wasn’t good with the idea of her being a witness at Billy and Chuck’s ceremony because he couldn’t shake the feeling it was some sort of trap. He had no proof to go on, it was only his gut telling him that something was off. However he had been in wrestling long enough to know that televised weddings were nothing but disasters waiting to happen. He would know, since he interrupted a televised wedding reception, during his first year with the company.

As soon as he stepped foot out of his locker room, a cameraman was on him. He simply ignored it as he made his way to his motorcycle and headed toward the ramp entrance for his cue. Matt Hardy’s music began to blare through the speakers as the ring announcer spoke, Taker instantly scowled when he heard that Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar were accompanying Matt down to the ring.

“Those motherfuckers…” He muttered, he didn’t have to be a genius to know those three were up to no good. If he didn’t do his best to make short work of Matt Hardy, it was definitely going to turn into a handicap match. The moment they cued him, he drove his motorcycle up the path that lead to the outside ramp and to the audience and ring.

Meanwhile backstage, Stephanie watched the monitor in her office, her back stiffening at the fact that Heyman and Lesnar chose to go out with Matt. Lightly she rubbed her forehead, wondering if she just let herself fall into a trap by booking the match. “Well sweety, looks like Momma may have to break her promise.” She muttered as she climbed to her feet and headed out the door of her office.

Down in the ring, Taker and Matt were taking it to each other. Taker being as vicious as ever, though Matt wasn’t backing down. His cocky attitude keeping him going toe to toe with the bigger man. However Paul and Brock weren’t making it easy for Taker to get the upper hand as they kept offering up distractions, by grabbing his leg or jumping on the ring apron. Though it wasn’t until Taker picked up Matt and tossed him onto the top turnbuckle for snake eyes and then went to bounce off the top rope that Brock really sprung into action, hitting Taker square in the upper back with a chair as he hit the top rope. The referee quickly called for the bell as Matt and Brock started putting the boots to Taker. Viciously Brock rained down fists on Taker, who tried to fight back, but was met with several stiff boots to the head and chest courtesy of Matt. All the while Paul shouted taunts at him, calling him distracted and weak.

“That’s enough!” Came Stephanie’s voice from the entrance as she walked out to the top of the ramp, holding a microphone. The roar of the crowd for her appearance was deafening. Her popularity since becoming General Manager of Smackdown, skyrocketing and certainly not taking a hit since her pregnancy had been revealed by Heyman. “Are you _really_ that insecure in your ability to defend your title that you got to take shortcuts like this?” She challenged, causing Brock to stand and scowl in her direction.

“Oh well, here it is. You just can’t bear to see the father of your child get his butt handed to him! Since when have you cared about anyone else getting outnumbered in the ring!” Paul challenged back, trying to point out her hypocrisy.

“Paul, I suggest you pick your words more carefully, because I have the power to make things a hell of a lot more difficult for you and your client! Last time I checked, I’m the one who gave you that pay increased that you wanted! In fact, I’ve been _very_ generous toward the both of you, but you are burning through my generosity pretty quickly here!” She threatened, reminding all the men in the ring who had the power.

During the distraction of Stephanie on the stage, Taker had climbed to his feet, kicking Matt Hardy in the face, before clotheslining Brock over the top rope. Stephanie walked backstage as security and officials came filing out to pull all parties apart. She’d done her part to keep her fiance from getting completely decimated, so she took it as a win as she headed toward Gorilla position.

After a few minutes, Matt came ushered through, followed by Brock and Paul. All three men, complaining at the security and officials. “You three are done for tonight. Escort them to their locker rooms to retrieve their belongings because I want them out of this arena.” Stephanie instructed, sitting comfortably near a grouping of monitors.

“You can’t do this!” Paul snapped.

“Oh but that is where you are wrong, Paul. I _can_ do that and I am doing that. Consider this a cool off period for all of you.” She replied smoothly. “Get them out of this building!” She added firmly as the security detail began shoving the three men toward the backstage area to do as Stephanie instructed. She held the microphone out to a nearby crew member, before standing and straightening her suit jacket. “I’ll be in my office.” She announced after a moment as she headed toward the backstage entrance leading from the Gorilla position.

“Steph!” A familiar voice called out.

She stopped in her tracks, inhaling sharply as she turned to see her fiance approaching her, a little worse for wear but otherwise he looked to be doing okay after the attack from Brock and Matt. Mentally she prepared herself to continue her verbal spar with him, but he pulled her into a nearby dressing room that was currently unoccupied.

“Look, I’m sorry about earlier, but I still don’t have a good feeling about you being involved in Billy and Chuck’s ceremony.” He whispered, while his hands moved up to touch her face.

Her expression softened as she saw the worry in his eyes. Instinctively, she brought her hands up to grip his wrists. “Mark, you got to trust me. I took care of Paul, Brock and Matt, didn’t I? I promise, I got this babe.” She replied, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips.

“I do trust you, but I don’t trust Rico, Billy or Chuck to look out for you. Rico is bad news, I feel it in my gut.” He pleaded, his hands moving down to rest at her hips.

“Babe, please. I already agreed, I’m not going to back out on them. I’ll be careful and security will be on standby.” She tried to reassure him, her hands moving up to grasp his neck. “Just _trust me_.” She whispered, pressing another kiss to his lips. 

Instinctively he brought her closer, deepening the kiss between them, his arms wrapping around her waist. After a few moments they both pulled apart to break for air. “I’m going to watch from Gorilla position, if anything happens to you. I will take it out of Rico’s ass.” He promised, his voice a hushed whisper against her lips.

“Okay, babe.” She agreed, finding it hard to keep her resolve when being held so passionately in his arms.

xXx

After her conversation with Mark, she headed back to her office. The rest of the show passed with relative ease, with a few more guys demanding matches for the night and for the pay per view. Once it was time to head down for Billy and Chuck’s commitment ceremony, she exited her office and made her way toward Gorilla position. As he promised, Mark was seated near a monitor still in his gear and ready to fight if need be. Stephanie made her way over to him as she could see on the monitors that the ring was being set up for the commitment ceremony.

“Still feeling paranoid?” She whispered, leaning against his chair.

“When it comes to your safely, I don’t care if you call me paranoid.” He replied, shooting a glare toward Rico as he walked through Gorilla position to head down to the ring.

Stephanie moved to follow him, but Mark grabbed her arm and pulled her down into his lap. “Mark…” She warned, unlike her dad, she didn’t like showing open displays of affection, while she was on duty as the boss. The stuff with her and Hunter in the past had painted her in the poorest of lights and now that she was finally coming off as fair boss. She didn’t want that perception ruined by people thinking she was favoring Mark instead of Hunter now.

He smirked at her light admonishing, but that didn’t stop him from pulling her into a kiss as Billy and Chuck walked through the backstage entrance into Gorilla position next. Both men paused as Stephanie pulled away from her fiance, before lightly resting her forehead against his in a tender gesture. The brief moment of affection between the couple, making Billy and Chuck glance at each other with unsure looks upon their faces. Though they were both quick to recover as they cleared their throats.

“Are you still coming out for the ceremony, Stephanie?” Chuck asked, trying to fight down his nerves.

“Yeah, I’m a woman of my word.” She replied, moving to get up from Mark’s lap. Though Mark gripped her wrist to pause her, before turning his gaze to Billy and Chuck.

“You two better not fuck around out there and get my lady and my baby hurt. Otherwise you two are going to deal with me.” He threatened.

“Chill big guy, everything will be alright.” Billy said confidently. Though he was unsure of the whole commitment thing, he honestly didn’t foresee anything happening to Stephanie. She was just a witness after all. But he did have to wonder, how he let himself be talked into going through with the whole ceremony business in the first place.

Mark reluctantly released his grip on Stephanie’s wrist. She gave him a small smile as she walked out toward the ring entrance, followed by Billy and Chuck. Once again, his attention was on the monitors.

xXx

Stephanie stood in the ring, witnessing the ceremony of Billy and Chuck. Everything seemed to be going okay, the guys said their vows and Rico had a video of their ‘love story’ played on the titantron. The video was admittedly cheesy as it consisted of all their backstage and in ring moments, rather than anything actually personal between them. But she simply chalked it up to Rico only having a week to get the ceremony together. However things began to take a turn for the strange once the Justice of the Peace asked if there were objections and the Godfather showed up with his girls.

“Charles…” She muttered under her breath, lightly pinching at the bridge of her nose. She was definitely going to have words with him later as this was just so uncalled for. She honestly hoped he didn't pull any crap like that when she and Mark finally had their day.

Rico was quick to shut Godfather down and send him and his girls away, though the crowd were being anything but enthusiastic about the ceremony. However Stephanie noted that Billy and Chuck were looking way less sure of things than they were before. Suddenly she felt a tightness in her chest and her back stiffened as an argument broke out between Rico, Billy and Chuck. The guys seemingly confused over why things were going so far.

“What the hell is going on?” She snapped at Rico.

“I’ve got this under control Stephanie.” Rico said calmly. Despite Billy and Chuck's protests that stated otherwise.

“Now just a moment!” The Justice snapped. “A commitment is a sacred thing! Whether it last fifty years, sixteen months or three minutes…” He paused, the old man suddenly straightening his shoulders. “Oh now did I just say, _three minutes._ ”

Stephanie’s eyes widened at the familiarity of the voice as the old man ripped his mask away to reveal none other than her rival, Raw General Manager, Eric Bischoff. Before she could react, Billy shoved her out of the way to get at Rico. Immediately she felt someone grab a hold of her arms as she struggled to throw them off. The Undertaker was half way down the ramp, by the time Bischoff’s cronies Jamal and Rosey jumped into the ring to attack Billy and Chuck.

Eric roughly pushed Stephanie down to the mat the moment he saw Stephanie’s fiance coming toward the ring, quickly hightailing it out of there. Taker immediately moving under the bottom ring rope to cover his fiancee from further harm as several of the guys from the locker room came down the ramp to help run off the Raw invaders. Edge, Rey Mysterio and John Cena giving chase to Eric, Rico, Jamal and Rosey into the crowd, while several of the other guys covered the ring just in case there were others attackers.

“Steph…” Mark whispered as she slowly sat up, her breathing erratic, clearly she was upset. Her shaking hands grasping her stomach protectively as he kept his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

“That bastard...he’s going to pay for this….” She hissed, no one put her baby at risk and _no one_ made a fool of her.

“Are you okay, Steph?” Kurt Angle asked as he knelt down in front of her and Taker, a look of concern upon his face.

Slowly she nodded as she gestured for Mark to help her to her feet, the crowd seem to cheer in relief that she was okay. 

xXx

Once she was back in her office, she flung everything off her desktop before collapsing into her chair. Her rage still palpable. Rico, Eric and Three Minute Warning were at the top of her list. Mark did her the favor of locking the door as he was barely keeping a lid on his own anger. He wanted to break Eric Bischoff in half for what he had tried to do. There was little doubt in his mind that he would have had his boys attack Stephanie, if he hadn’t made it down to the ring as fast as he had.

“What do you want to do?” He asked, because no way was he going to let her being personally attacked go unpunished.

“Oh no, this isn’t going to be something I do in haste. He’ll be expecting immediate pay back.” Stephanie replied, squeezing her bottom lip between her thumb and forefinger. “He purposely and willingly endangered our unborn child, retribution is going to be slow and painful.” She stated coldly.

“I don’t know that I have enough patience to not break him in half the moment I see him.” Mark confessed, inhaling sharply. This was one time that he wished his gut feeling hadn’t been right. That attack was far too close for comfort.

Suddenly her cell phone began to ring, she quickly answered it without checking the caller ID display. "Hello."

"Steph, are you okay?" Vince's voice came through the line. His tone a mix of concern and anger.

"Yeah, I'm just pissed off." Stephanie replied frankly.

"I can't believe that bastard tried to have you attacked like that!" Vince snapped, while he knew Eric would play dirty, he hadn't expected him to physically attack Stephanie.

"Well he's going to regret it, no one threatens me or my child and gets away with it." She said, her voice full of venom. Eric Bischoff would pay, she was going to see to it. If it were the last thing she did.


	3. Stipulations?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie and Mark receive some unexpected news and things with Bischoff, Heyman and Lesnar get even more intense.

As she was nearing her tenth week of pregnancy her nausea was still fairly acute first thing in the morning, though it was beginning to subside during the rest of her day. Only really returning when she managed to smell or eat something that triggered her gag reflex. Given what had almost happened on the last Smackdown, her family insisted she go see her doctor and make certain that the baby was doing well. Rather than argue, she acquiesced, opting to appease her fiance and family. Thus she found herself on the examination table at her OB/GYN with Mark sitting off to the side as the doctor gave her a check up before preparing her for an ultrasound just to make certain everything was good with the baby.

“We probably should have taken one of these two weeks ago, but you’ve been a busy mommy.” Her doctor teased, as she put the gel on Stephanie’s exposed stomach, that was definitely starting to protrude already.

“Sorry, that’s the pitfalls of working for a company that puts on several shows weekly and tours around the country.” Stephanie replied, trying not to flinch at the feel of the cold gel hitting her skin.

“How are you doing over there, dad?” The doctor asked, glancing over to Mark, he had been awfully quiet since they came into her office. Not that he had been overly talkative any of the other times, she had met him. But she liked to engage both parents to help ease their nerves, especially when those parents were having their first child.

“I’m fine, doc. Just a little anxious.” He admitted, causing the doctor to smile at him warmly.

“I’m sure everything will be fine....” She trailed off, looking over at the ultrasound screen as she moved the rod around on Stephanie’s stomach. 

"Dr. Miller?" Stephanie questioned.

"Take a look at the screen, Stephanie." Doctor Miller nodded, a wide smile playing on her face.

Stephanie immediately glanced over, her eyes widening at the sight of not just one embryonic sac but two. "Oh my god…" She gasped, her mouth practically dropping open from the shock.

"Congratulations, it looks like you two are having twins." Doctor Miller replied, glancing over to Mark, who had stood up and moved closer to Stephanie's opposite side. She smiled, witnessing the silent shock between the couple before they kissed each other affectionately. "This definitely explains why your morning sickness has been so bad. Your little jelly beans both seem to be doing well. Everything looks normal." She added, taking captures of both fetuses for their parents to take home with them.

"When can we find out their sexes?" Stephanie asked, still in shock over the news.

"In about two more weeks, we should be able to determine their sexes. So I suggest you not miss your next appointment. Continue taking your prenatal vitamins and try to slow down some. Make sure you watch your calorie intake because you are going to have the potential to gain a lot of weight."

Stephanie nodded as the doctor handed her a towel to wipe the gel off of her stomach. Slowly she sat up with a bit of help from Mark. The doctor finished up giving her a few more instructions before letting the couple be on their way. The pair were still in shock as they made it down to their car. 

“Well I guess, we got another surprise on our hands.” Stephanie said as she climbed into the passenger side of the car.

“What do you want to do, Steph?” Mark asked, curious how she wanted to handle this news. “You know the moment, you tell your folks that it is twins, they are _really_ going to push for you to step down from Smackdown.”

“And eventually I will step down, but not before I get my revenge on Bischoff for what he did and definitely not before we handle Heyman and Lesnar.” She nodded, glancing over to Mark in the driver’s side seat.

“You sure?” He asked, it went without saying that he would support whatever decision she made, because when it came down to it. He trusted her to know what she could and couldn’t handle.

“Yeah, I worked hard to make Smackdown a great show, but our children are more important. I plan to stay on for as long as I am physically able, but once I take my maternity leave. I’ll relinquish my title as General Manager of Smackdown.” She replied, a bittersweet smile finding her face.

Mark leaned over and pressed a kiss to her tempo. The moment she had told him that she was pregnant, he knew she would be an amazing mother. While they hadn’t planned on starting a family so soon, he couldn’t help but feel so proud of her for being willing to put her career on hold to tend to their children.

“You know, I got your back. I was already planning on going on hiatus when it gets closer to your due date. I’ll take off as much time as needed to make sure you and our children are taken care of.”

“Hopefully I don’t pop before Wrestlemania, because that would be the best time to write you off of television for a spell.” Stephanie quipped, leaning over to press a kiss to his jaw.

“We’ll figure things out. I still owe Brock Lesnar an asswhooping, I’m going to beat that kid senseless at the pay per view.” He stated as he finally started the car, so they could head back to the house.

“He’s definitely got it coming. Babe, just so you know. If Brock manages to beat you at Unforgiven, I know that he won’t be able to destroy your legend. Don’t let Heyman get in your head with his bullshit.” Stephanie offered as a reassurance.

“Don’t lose faith in me now.” He joked.

Stephanie chuckled, lightly shaking her head at his false bravado. “As if I could ever lose faith in you.”

“So what do you want to do about Bischoff?” He asked, really wanting to get his hands on that piece of shit himself. No one endangered his woman and his unborn children, _nobody._

“I wanted to move a little slower, but given our news. I’m thinking, we should pay Raw a visit _this_ week. We can bring Billy and Chuck along for good measure, since they need a chance to redeem themselves.” She replied, a definite calculated look upon her face.

“Sounds like you got a plan in mind.” He replied with a sadistic chuck.

A devious little grin stretched across her face as she let out a sadistic laugh of her own. “Oh, I do and it is a good _one_.”

xXx

It was as solid of a plan as any. Stephanie managed to hire a group of actresses and women wrestlers to portray a women’s activist group, protesting the sexism of Raw and the General Manager Eric Bischoff. Meanwhile the Undertaker, Billy and Chuck were inside the venue, hiding out among the outspoken crowd, just biding their time.

Eric was cocky and very predictable as he had the women’s group brought inside the building, even allowing them to wait in one of the locker rooms. Stephanie couldn’t help but smile as the girls played up their positions as ‘militant feminists’ seeking to right the wrongs of the evil Raw GM. Quietly she sat among the group of women, large black frame glasses on her face with a dark brown bobbed wig upon her head hiding her true identity. Everyone knew what they were meant to do, when the time came. 

‘Eric, you’re a damn idiot.’ She thought, barely able to contain her laughter.

As expected, he didn’t bother coming to the locker room, instead he wanted to meet them out in the ring. She had hoped he would be so bold to do so. That meant he intended to have Three Minute Warning attack their group, but boy would they be in for one of the biggest surprises. Not only were there several capable women among the group but Billy, Chuck and Taker were all out in the crowd waiting to pounce. The moment the ladies all stepped into the ring, a microphone was given to the ladies’ spokeswoman. To her credit, she played her part well, certainly putting in an award winning performance as she read Eric Bischoff the riot act.

“You sir, are completely reprehensible. You’re nothing but a low life scum of the Earth sexist pig! Using the women on your roster as sexual objects. Forcing your competent female competitors into degrading themselves in bra and panties matches, pillow fights and low brow mud wrestling! And then you top the offenses off by bringing out lesbians to make out in front of your audience and then have them attacked by your ruffians! We want equality for the women of Raw! They deserve a better boss than you!” She said impassioned, before Eric snatched the mic out of her hand.

“Lesbians? Is that what this is about? You all are a bunch of lesbians?” He questioned in his most condescending tone. “Unfortunately for you tragic spinster lesbians, I’m a busy man. I don’t have a lot of time to spare for you to keep airing out your grievances. But I do have about…” Eric was abruptly cut off as Stephanie sprung forward and kicked him straight in the groin. Instantly he crumpled to the mat, dropping the microphone in the process.

Stephanie picked up the mic as she tossed off her glasses and pulled off her wig. “What was that, Eric? Were you going to say _three minutes_?” She asked as two of the women put the boots to him. “Get him!” She shouted, encouraging the women’s assault on the Raw GM.

Roughly the ladies, pulled him to his feet and tossed him toward the ropes. Though he never reached the ropes as the Undertaker came out of the crowd and slid under the ropes to catch Eric by the throat. Quickly he hoisted the helpless man over seven feet into the air and chokeslammed him down into the mat, while Stephanie cheered him on.

“Get him, baby! Destroy him!” She demanded, sounding very much like her father, Vince McMahon.

As Taker picked Eric up and flipped him over his shoulder ready to deliver a tombstone piledriver on him, Three Minute Warning came running toward the ring. However they were immediately cut off by Billy and Chuck coming out of the crowd next. The two teams brawling just outside the ring as Taker hit the tombstone on Eric, leaving the man laid out in the middle of the ring. 

“Yes!” Stephanie cheered as her man climbed to his feet. Both of them laughing madly to the approving roar of the crowd. The ‘women’s group’ had already took off into the crowd, leaving the Smackdown wrestlers and their GM to handle business.

Stephanie got out of the ring as Billy and Chuck threw Jamal and Rosey into the ring. Jamal found himself getting chokeslammed by the Undertaker, while Rosey was double teamed by Billy and Chuck. Finally security and several of the Raw wrestlers that supported Bischoff came heading down the ramp toward the ring. However, Stephanie had already jumped over the crowd barrier and the guys weren’t that far behind her. By the time, they made it out of the venue, Stephanie couldn’t help but feel vindicated. She could not wait to rewatch the broadcast, because things had played out just so perfectly. Everyone had split off, heading toward their respective cars, when Stephanie turned to Mark with an elated smile on her face.

“I wish you would have powerbombed him too.” She laughed as Mark hugged her.

“Well if he tries to pull something at the pay per view, I’ll be sure to powerbomb him.” Mark replied as the pair kissed, before breaking off to get into their rental car.

They were heading out the parking garage, when her cell phone began to ring. She answered it without checking the display, figuring it was either her mother or father, putting the call on speaker.

“Hello.”

“Steph, I just saw the segment with you getting your revenge on Eric. Good job, I didn’t even see that coming.” Vince chuckled. “Though Eric is challenging Smackdown to an interpromotional brand match, Billy and Chuck against Three Minute Warning at Unforgiven.”

“Heh, that sounds too simple. What aren’t you telling me?” Stephanie asked, still beaming with excitement over getting to see Eric get his ass kicked by women and then her fiance.

“Well he wants the stipulations that if Raw wins, you indulge in hot lesbian action or if Smackdown wins, he’ll kiss your ass for all to witness.”

Mark instantly scoffed. “He has a death wish, if he thinks I would let him put his lips anywhere near my future wife.”

“He’s so backward, shouldn't I get to decide what stipulation I want if Smackdown wins?” She asked, wondering if she just forgot how bets work or something.

“I’ll back you on changing the stipulation to something you want.” Vince said, certainly in agreement with his daughter. He knew he wouldn’t like someone deciding what he should get, if won a bet.

“Good, because I think he should have to last three minutes in the ring with the Undertaker no inference from anyone, if Smackdown wins.” Stephanie laughed.

“Heh, try not to kill him on live television, Mark. If anyone tries to save Eric, they will be fired on the spot.” Vince replied with a chuckle.

Mark merely laughed, more than pleased with that stipulation. He could certainly spare some attention to whoop Eric’s ass. Then all of his focus would go to destroying Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman.

xXx

Stephanie sat at lunch with her sister in law, Marissa as she needed a favor from her and she knew that she was the only one who she could really trust to help her. Her and Mark agreed that it would be okay to tell Marissa about the twins as she was trustworthy enough to keep the secret. Though that didn’t stop Stephanie from feeling a tad nervous.

“Is everything okay, sis? You seem a little anxious.” Marissa asked, looking a little worried.

“For the most part.” She sighed. “So you know how I went to the doctor to get checked out right?”

“Yeah, is everything alright with the baby?” Marissa questioned, her voice full of concern.

“Yes, everything is alright with the babies.” Stephanie replied, waiting to see Marissa’s reaction once she registered her words.

It only took a moment before Marissa’s eyes widened and excitedly leaned over to grasp Stephanie’s hands. “Babies?” She asked excitedly.

“We’re having twins.” Stephanie nodded, a large smile stretching across her face.

Marissa immediately got up from the table and moved over to hug Stephanie tightly. “Oh my god! Congratulations, sweety! I’m so happy for you and Mark!”

“Look, you are the first person we’ve decided to tell, but you got to promise me you won’t tell anyone else. Not even Shane.” Stephanie said as Marissa moved to sit back down.

“Of course, is there any reason why you guys want to keep it a secret?” She asked curiously.

“Well mainly we are waiting until we find out their sexes, but also I know the moment I tell my parents, they are really going to want me to step down from running Smackdown. But I’d like to buy some time there.” Stephanie explained, leaning back in her chair.

“Buy some time for what?” Marissa asked confused.

“I put a lot into making Smackdown a great show in its own right. So I want to keep the momentum going even after Mark and I are gone.” She admitted. 

“So you are planning on leaving...both of you?” Marissa asked, mildly surprised by the news.

“Yeah, when I go on my maternity leave, I’ll be stepping down from Smackdown then. Mark is just going to go on hiatus for a few months. He still loves performing too much to retire just yet. Of course, I’m still going to work for Titan Sports, but I won’t be doing anything on television. The less I have to travel, the better for my babies. In the meantime though, I really need your help.”

“Whatever you need, sis.” She replied in all seriousness, there wasn’t much she wouldn’t do for her sister-in-law. Truly she considered Stephanie to be her little sister, not just Shane’s sister. So she was gladly support her in whatever way she could.

“How would you feel about being my assistant for Smackdown for the next few months? I could really use someone who is trustworthy to help me with the show.” Stephanie asked, giving her sister-in-law a pleading gaze.

“Of course, I’ll do it, but what will we tell Vince and Linda, when I request to be transferred to Smackdown?” Marissa asked. She still worked for Titan Sports behind the scenes in their media and communications department. So she didn't think they would mind letting her go to Smackdown, especially if it were only temporary. However she knew they would want an explanation.

“We can tell them the truth. I need a personal assistant that I can trust to help me out. Especially with me being pregnant. We just won’t mentioned that I’m having twins just yet.” Stephanie replied with a smile. She knew omissions were still considered lies in the long run, but it wasn't a malicious lie. She _did_ intend to tell her parents about the twins before the babies were born. It was a reveal she and Mark planned on making over the holidays to both their families. She was just glad to have Marissa on board as support as she had no idea how pregnancy was going to affect her and her ability to do her job in the long haul. At least with her sister-in-law as back up, she had someone other than her fiance to turn to on her bad days.

xXx

While it wasn’t a rarity for Stephanie to start off Smackdown with a promo, it was a rarity for her and the Undertaker to come down to the ring together as a couple. Though after she had been attacked last Smackdown and they retaliated on the following Raw, there was really no point in them playing coy about their relationship. Her time as Smackdown General Manager would be ending likely by Wrestlemania, if not sooner. Thus they choose to address Eric Bischoff, Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar all in one shot. The crowd reaction to the pair was huge as the audience had just been shown the highlights of what they did to Eric Bischoff and Three Minute Warning on Raw. Stephanie couldn’t help but laugh at all the chants breaking out for her and Mark as the crowd seemed to really love the idea of them being a couple. After spending so much time as a heel, it was still surreal to her to be considered a babyface, but here she was over with the crowd in a positive light. It was hard not to soak in the love and adulation from the fans. Instinctively she placed a hand on her slightly protruding belly, which seemed to get an even bigger pop from the crowd as they were reminded that she was having a baby. If there were any question as to whether or not, she and Mark were really together that proved it.

Normally they weren’t overly affectionate in front of the cameras, but they made the conscious decision to play up their relationship, since Heyman decided he wanted to drag her into the discussion. Mark pressed a kiss to Stephanie’s cheek as he handed her the microphone. Quickly he leaned in to whisper in her ear, since the crowd was practically roaring their approval at the couple.

“If Paul and Brock come down into this ring, promise me you will get out of here as fast as you can.” He warned, clearly worried that their plan would backfire on them.

She simply nodded before pressing a quick kiss to his lips. It went without saying that she wouldn’t risk a physical confrontation with Heyman and Lesnar as neither seemed to have any compunctions about using her against the Undertaker. She honestly had no idea how far either man would go and she wasn’t interested in finding out. After a few moments the crowd began quieting down, allowing her the chance to speak.

“So as you all just saw, we handled Eric Bischoff on Raw this past Monday. Eric Bischoff, who saw fit to have Rico manipulate Billy and Chuck into doing that commitment ceremony last week. All so he and his two goons could come into this very ring and personally attack me. Now I realize that the commitment ceremony was announced _before_ Paul Heyman decided he was going to out me as being pregnant. But I gotta say, Eric it was pretty low of you to arrange a physical attack on me because you are afraid of a little competition. The fact that you went through with the attack even knowing that I am with child, speaks volumes to what a huge slimeball you really are. So it gave me great pleasure to return the favor on Monday. Eric, how did it feel to not only get kicked in the gonads, but get beat up by a group of capable women _and_ get your ass handed to you by the Undertaker?”

The crowd roared with approval as Stephanie had her signature McMahon smug look on her face. All too amused at the humiliation that she and Mark put Bischoff through. He deserved even worse in her opinion for even trying to attack a pregnant woman.

“Tonight’s a special treat, because Eric Bischoff will be joining us via satellite as he’s challenged Smackdown, specifically Billy and Chuck to a match against Three Minute Warning for Unforgiven. So he’ll get a chance to tell us exactly how all of that felt.” She laughed. “I’ll tell you all, right now that I do accept that match on their behalf. However I will address the stipulations later as I want to see Eric’s face when he hears what the Smackdown stipulations will be. Since Taker here does not approve of Eric kissing my ass.” 

Taker merely shook his head at the camera. Even without a microphone, he could be heard saying, “There’s not a chance in hell that I’m letting you put your lips anywhere near her.”

Stephanie laughed again as the crowd cheered louder. Taker momentarily took the microphone out of Stephanie’s hand as there was someone else he wanted to address. “Still related to the topic, _Rico_ . Son, you got a lot of nerve setting Stephanie up the way you did. You took her kindness and shoved it right back in her face. I knew you were bad news with the way you were pushing for her to come to the ring in the first place.” He said while pacing the ring like a caged animal. “I have warned everyone time and time again, _not_ to mess with my family. Because when you mess with my family, there _will_ be consequences. So boy, don’t think you are off the hook. Cause you’re not.” He paused to stare menacingly into the camera. “Son, you are on borrowed time. The moment I see you, I am putting boot to ass and I’m going to stomp you out. You are not safe on Raw. You’re not safe anywhere. If you bring your ass to Unforgiven, don’t expect to be walking out of the building. You better keep an ambulance on standby.”

Lightly Stephanie rubbed a hand over Taker’s lower back in a calming gesture, before slowly reaching out for the microphone. He took a deep breath before relinquishing it to her.

“Now with that said, that brings us to the subject of Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar and Matt Hardy and their actions last week. Look, I’ve been doing my best to be a neutral party because of my role as General Manager of Smackdown. However I am not going to let it slide that you three want to use me against my man. So tonight in this very ring, the main event for this show is a six man tag team match. Which will see the WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, Matt Hardy _and_ Paul Heyman against the Undertaker, Billy and Chuck.” She announced to the crowd that were cheering their approval of the main event.

As expected Brock’s music began to play as he and Heyman walked out onto the ramp, Heyman already holding a mic in his hand. Instinctively Taker moved to stand in front of Stephanie, just in case Brock charged the ring.

“Woah, woah, woah! You can’t book me into a match! I’m an agent not a wrestler! This is clearly a gross misuse of power!” Heyman shouted.

“Oh really? Well in that case, Paul, if you _don’t_ compete in the six man tag tonight, then at Unforgiven, Brock and Taker’s title match will be a no disqualification, no holds barred match!” She snapped, the look in her eyes daring them to challenge her authority further.

Brock looked like he was about to sprint down the ramp, but Heyman quickly stood in front of him, shaking his head practically pleading for him to stay put. However it wasn’t enough as he roughly pushed Paul out of the way and ran down the ramp. Quickly Taker waved Stephanie off. Just as she got out of the ring, Taker was getting a two leg takedown from Brock as he slid under the bottom rope. The two monster sized men pummeling each other artlessly. Heyman shouted toward the back for help as Matt Hardy came running from the back to help Brock attack Taker. Though he was quickly followed by Billy and Chuck, which lead to all five men beating on each other, while Stephanie and Paul looked on.

“We need some help out here!” Stephanie shouted over the microphone. Security, several officials and members of the locker room ran out from the back to separate the brawling men. All the while the crowd went crazy. During the commotion, Stephanie made her way up the ramp into the Gorilla position, where Marissa was waiting for her.

“Are you okay, sis?” She asked, closing the distance between them.

Stephanie nodded, handing her microphone over to a crew member that was standing nearby. “I’ll be in my office, one of you let me know when Eric is on satellite.” She announced to the technicians before gesturing for Marissa to follow her. As much as it pained her to leave Mark out there on his own, she promised him that she wouldn’t get physically involved with his fight with Brock. They just couldn’t take any chances when it came to her and the babies.

Marissa merely shook her head as they walked to Stephanie’s office. “What is with these guys and wanting to attack a pregnant woman? Are titles really that important to them?”

“Apparently so.” Stephanie sighed. “Look, Paul is likely going to try to get me to change my mind. So I’m going to need you to run interference with him and keep him from disturbing me.”

“Okay, I got your back, Steph. He’s not welcomed in your office.” Marissa said with a large smile. Stephanie knew she could count on Marissa to be one tough cookie. Paul wouldn’t know what to do once he came up against one Marissa Mazzola-McMahon. 

xXx

After the brawl out in the ring, Mark found himself in the back, sharing a locker room with Billy and Chuck. Both men watching him cautiously as they could see he was still seething over everything that had been taking place. The silence growing deafening that finally Billy decided to say something. “Hey man, I hope you know we’re sorry about the whole ceremony thing. We really didn’t think Rico was planning on having Stephanie attacked. We never would have let him talk us into that stupid stunt, if we thought he was in cahoots with Eric Bischoff.” 

Mark’s shoulders stiffened, though he refused to look at Billy and Chuck. While he knew they were duped in their eagerness to get over with the crowds. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t mad at them for blatantly lying about being gay. He knew they were being attention whores and it nearly cost him Stephanie and his children. “There are better ways to get over with the crowds other than lying about your sexuality. Your lies nearly got Stephanie and our unborn child hurt.” He replied flatly.

Chuck sighed. “Mark, we were just trying to subvert expectations. It was never meant to go as far as it did. You’re right. We shouldn’t have lied and we shouldn’t have listened to Rico, when he suggested a commitment ceremony would be a good idea in the first place. But we never would have put Stephanie into danger on purpose. No amount of publicity is worth that.” He stated sincerely. He had never had a problem with Stephanie, not even during the Alliance days. As far as he was concerned, she was doing a great job running Smackdown.

Mark’s shoulders slightly slumped at hearing the open sincerity in Chuck’s voice, the other man definitely sounding remorseful. While it didn’t completely take away his anger in general, it did help to curb it towards them. “Look, just make sure you beat the crap out of Three Minute Warning at Unforgiven, because I don’t want to see my fiancee make out with another woman for Eric Bischoff’s enjoyment.”

“Oh, we are going to kick their big asses and if Rico shows his face during our match, he’s going to get it broke in half.” Billy affirmed. “You’ll have to stomp out whatever is left after we get through with him.”

That proclamation got a laugh out of Taker. “As long as he gets an asswhooping, I don’t care who delivers it.”

For the first time since the three men entered the locker room, the tension seemed to break. Billy and Chuck couldn’t help but laugh as well. Now they just needed to get through their six man tag match and then they could turn their focus to Unforgiven.

xXx

Paul found himself face to face with the one McMahon he had yet to interact with during his time with the WWE. He honestly had no idea how to deal with her as she gave him such a bright smile. Her disposition was sickening sweet with a hard edge as she stood between him and Stephanie’s office.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Heyman, but Ms. McMahon has specifically ordered that she is not to be disturbed.” She told him, her smile never wavering. Her friendly and sunny disposition was one of her greatest assets, especially when combined with the venom of the McMahon family. “So it seems you will have to take your grievances elsewhere.”

“This is completely unfair! She can’t make me compete when I’m not a competitor!” He snapped.

“Well that’s not entirely true, now is it? One upon a time, you were a competitor to the WWE, when you were running ECW. Instead of standing on the sidelines screaming, use that energy to help your team out.” She replied in a cheery tone, that was clearly meant to mock him. “I’m sure Mr. Lesnar and Mr. Hardy would appreciate having the help. Otherwise they’ll be wrestling a handicap match _and_ _then_ Mr. Lesnar will have to face the Undertaker in a ‘no holds barred’ match at Unforgiven. The choice is yours, Mr. Heyman.”

Paul inhaled sharply, not appreciating Marissa’s mocking words. “I don’t appreciate the mockery, Mrs. McMahon. Do you realize who you are truly messing with here?” He asked in a menacing tone.

Marissa inhaled sharply and stepped into his personal space, her facial expression taking on a deadly seriousness. “I know exactly who I am messing with. You’re the man, who decided he was going to announce my sister’s business over national television, because he has no faith that his client can defeat my future brother-in-law. You’re the man, who would have his client try to physically endanger a pregnant woman because he is so damn desperate to hold onto a title that eventually will be lost. _No one_ stays champion forever. Just ask, Bruno Sammartino. Sooner or later, Brock _will_ lose that belt. If not to the Undertaker, then to someone else. So you go tell your client to man up and face his opponent head on and leave my sister out of it.”

Instinctively Paul took a step back, seeing the menacing glare in Marissa’s eyes. At that moment he liken her to a viper as she seemed poised to strike him down, if he didn’t back off from trying to get to Stephanie. Already, he didn’t like her. There was a definite mama bear vibe coming off of her but he wouldn’t be detoured by her protective nature. However he would retreat for the time being as he sensed he would not win this round. He was always good at regrouping and coming back with a new plan. This wouldn’t be any different. If Taker and Stephanie were so protective of each other that simply meant that a wedge would need to be driven between them and he already had an idea of how that could be done.

“Alright, Mrs. McMahon, you’ve made your point. Tell Stephanie that I won’t allow the Undertaker to have his way with my client. If he wants that title, he’s going to have to pry it from my client’s cold dead hands. Because the Undertaker is not going to win at Unforgiven.” Paul said as he turned to walk away.

“Well that remains to be seen, Mr. Heyman. Tell your client, good luck because he’s going to need all the luck come Unforgiven. From my understanding, the Undertaker isn’t just looking to win the title. He’s looking for retribution. So that could very well be the end of Brock Lesnar. What _will_ you do, if you lose your meal ticket?”

Paul stopped walking as he heard her question. Slowly he turned back around to see her staring at him, her expression still entirely serious.

“The Undertaker is a tough opponent, but Brock is going to _eat_ him alive. So I think the question here, is what will Stephanie do, when she’s forced to raise her child alone?” He retorted before spinning on heel to walk back to his client’s locker room.

Marissa merely shook her head as she turned around and walked back into Stephanie’s office, leaving the cameraman to film an empty hallway.

xXx

Later Stephanie found herself getting ready to chat with Eric Bischoff via satellite, while Marissa sat off to the side out of the view of the camera. A crew member made sure that she was properly mic’d before moving out of the frame of the camera. Finally Eric’s image came on the monitor, looking as smug and arrogant as usual. However that didn’t detour Stephanie from looking just as smug.

“Hello Eric.”

“Hello Stephanie, you’re looking well for a woman in your condition.” He replied, definitely sounding backhanded.

Stephanie merely rolled her eyes completely unaffected. “Oh yeah, though even in my condition, I was still able to handle you on Monday. So tell me, Eric. How are the old Bischoffs doing after what happened on Raw?” She asked, trying to keep from laughing.

Eric’s smug expression faltered at the memory of being kicked in the groin by Stephanie, followed by the beatings from her girls and the Undertaker. He cleared his throat quickly regrouping.

“So I saw you accepted my challenge at Unforgiven, but it seems my stipulations weren’t good enough for you.”

“Oh Eric, as amusing as it would be for you to pucker up and kiss my ass. The Undertaker just does not approve and well he _is_ my fiance.” She replied, pressing her hands together in front of her, allowing the camera to see the engagement ring on her left hand. “So Smackdown’s stipulation for the interpromotional brand match will be, if Billy and Chuck win. You Eric Bischoff will have to last three minutes in the ring with the Undertaker.”

“What?!” Eric questioned, sitting up straighter in his chair, a clear frown on his face. “You can’t be serious.”

“I am 100% serious. In fact, I’ve spoken with my father on the subject. Not only does he approve, he’s said if anyone interferes on your behalf that you will be fired from your position as Raw General Manager.” She told him with that McMahon signature smile.

Instantly the color drained out of Eric Bischoff’s face as he realized just how screwed he was if Three Minute Warning didn’t win the match at the pay per view.

“Fine, we both know that Billy and Chuck don’t stand a chance against Three Minute Warning. So you’ll be the one making out with lesbians for the whole world to see.” Eric retorted, looking far too pleased at the idea of Stephanie making out with women.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, who wins the match on Sunday. Though I think you are completely underestimating Billy and Chuck here. So I hope you stay tuned for the main event tonight, because you might just be looking at your future, come Unforgiven.” Stephanie said coolly.

“Oh I plan on watching. I’m going to enjoy watching Brock Lesnar destroy all your boys.” He retorted, his smug smiling returning.

Stephanie merely chuckled, shaking her head as she was confident that the guys could hold their own, otherwise she wouldn’t have made the match up.

xXx

Stephanie and Marissa sat in her office, watching the monitor as the last match of the night was getting ready to take place. Thankfully there was no cameraman present on her end, so she could watch the match in peace. Though inwardly she did worry that all parties might get carried away given how high emotions were running.

“Are you okay, sis?”

“Yeah, I’m just a little worried that the guys will really take each other apart.”

“Don’t worry, sis. I made sure that security and the officials know to get in there and break things up, if things go too far. We do got a pay per view on Sunday. We can’t afford anyone getting too injured.”

“Good thinking, I’m glad you’re here.” Stephanie replied, giving her sister-in-law a grateful smile.

Down in the ring, Matt and Billy were starting off the match since both Taker and Brock were a little too heated to be trusted not to kill each other right off the bat. Meanwhile Paul looked nervous as he stood on the apron.

“We got this, Paul. Stop looking so worried.” Brock told him flatly as he watched Matt and Billy go back and forth.

Despite Matt’s bravado, he was giving a Billy a run for his money. Both men going back and forth, while their respective tag partners looked on with impatience. Finally Matt got Billy back into his team’s turnbuckle and tagged Brock into the match. Matt immediately distracted the ref, giving Brock and Paul a chance to double team Billy for a few seconds. Though Taker and Chuck refused to stay in their corner as they both attacked Matt and Brock, knocking Paul off the apron in the process. The ref immediately struggling to get the match back under control. However Taker pushed the ref out of the way as Brock pounced on him. The two men once again artlessly pummeling each other.

While Chuck was brawling with Matt, Billy caught his breath and flung himself forward to hit Brock from behind. Brock quickly turning his attention to Billy. The small brawl between the two men ending with Brock landing an F five on Billy, only to end up getting chokeslammed immediately afterward by the Undertaker.

Finally the officials and security came out to the ring as the match had broken down into utter chaos. While the crowd were enjoying the brawling, there was no way to get the match back on track and not see any of the men seriously injured each other. The broadcast ended as once again the five men in the ring were forcibly separated.

Stephanie merely shook her head. “Let’s hope they can actually work their matches on Sunday. Otherwise things may go off the rails come Unforgiven.”

“It should be alright, sis. At least on Sunday it will be a one on one match between Mark and Brock. Hopefully they will get the aggression out of their system then.”

“Yeah, that’s what is worrying me. They are both out for blood and I have both a personal and professional stake in that match up.” Stephanie said with a sigh. Personally she wanted to see Mark beat the hell out of Brock, but on a professional level she _needed_ both men to come out of the match in one piece. The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were two of the biggest draws for Smackdown, so she really felt torn on what she wanted to see.

“I know, sis. I’m so proud of you. Despite all the drama, you’ve been staying strong. Smackdown isn’t going to be the same once you go on your maternity leave.” Marissa replied, quite aware of the thin walls, thus choosing her words carefully as not to give Stephanie’s full plans away.

Stephanie could only give Marissa a sad smile, while she was excited to meet her babies, she was still sad that she was going to need to step away from Smackdown. As the show itself had become her baby too.


	4. On the Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Stephanie deals with pregnancy symptoms, she also tries to keep up on her Smackdown General Manager duties. The mind games that Heyman, Lesnar and Bischoff play on the pair take their toll on Mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance for the size of this chapter, but it didn't quite want to end.

As the day before the pay per view approached, Stephanie found herself to be utterly miserable between her nausea and the various shooting pains her body was experiencing. She didn’t want to leave her hotel room, much less be seen by people. She was still dressed in her sweatpants and a tank top as she lay helplessly in bed, trying to will her body to cooperate with her, when her sister-in-law came into the room to check on her.

“Sweety, are you okay?” Marissa asked, her voice full of concern.

“No, my babies are kicking my ass.” She whimpered. “Where’s Mark?” She asked, part of her wanting to cling to him, while the other half wanted to murder him. Because clearly her misery was his fault, he was the one who got her pregnant in the first place.

“He and Shane went to the store to pick up the stuff your doctor suggested might help your nausea.” Marissa replied, sitting down on the bed beside Stephanie. Gently she rubbed her little sister’s back. “They’ll be back soon.”

Another stabbing pain along her side had Stephanie whimper again as she curled into a ball on the bed. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital? Just to be sure you and the babies are okay.” Her sister suggested, in a comforting tone.

Despite herself, Stephanie could feel the tears threatening her eyes. The very idea that she could lose her babies filling her with dread and panic. Sensing the shift in her little sister’s mood, Marissa immediately laid down next to Stephanie and hugged her. “Deep breaths, sweety. Everything will be okay.” She whispered, gently rocking Steph in a soothing manner, while lightly stroking her hair.

By the time, Mark and Shane came back to the suite, Stephanie was still curled into a ball with Marissa doing her best to comfort her. Both Mark and Shane glanced at each other with worried expressions, before Mark walked over to the bed and sat down facing his fiancée. “Steph?” He said cautiously.

Instinctively she reached out and grabbed his arm. While she had some bad days before this was by far her worst one yet. Marissa moved off the bed as Mark gently pulled Stephanie into his lap and began lightly rubbing her back. Meanwhile Marissa ushered Shane out the door to give the pair some privacy. Softly closing the door behind them.

“Poor Steph, I haven’t seen her in that bad of shape ever.” Shane said in a hushed whisper.

“Well this is her first time being pregnant. I just hope that she has more good days than bad ones.” Marissa replied, wrapping her arms around Shane’s waist.

“Me too.” He agreed, hugging his wife back. “You sure, you want to have kids?” He asked, jokingly.

Marissa lightly swatted his lower back as she pressed a kiss to his lips. “Eventually, I do. Besides don’t you think our niece or nephew deserves a cousin?”

“Yeah, I guess. Besides now mom and dad are asking when we are going to start a family since we’ve been married for seven years and Stephanie’s already beaten us to the punch.” He replied, looking amused.

“My parents are asking the same.” Marissa stated with a laugh. “They are all just going to have to wait though.” She added, giving Shane another hug.

“That’s fine by me. I’m ready whenever you are.” He told her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Meanwhile Mark continued to comfort Stephanie feeling absolutely helpless in the situation. While these were his first children with Stephanie, they were the second and third children of his overall. His oldest being with his first wife, Jodi and he was quite a shame to admit that he hadn't really been there for Jodi, during her pregnancy with Gunner. He had been in the delivery room for his oldest son's birth but he had spent more time on the road rather than being a husband and father. Even though he and Jodi had been divorced for nearly five years, they had managed to maintain an amicable relationship if only for the sake of their son. 

"Steph?" He asked, while petting her hair as she laid her head in his lap.

"Hmm?" She replied, slowly glancing up at Mark. 

"Do you think you might want to spend some time with Gunner?" He asked cautiously, she'd met his son a couple of times, but she hadn't really gotten to spend any real quality time with the precocious nine year old. Of course, Heyman had ruined many of their plans by announcing her pregnancy earlier than they wanted everyone to know. He had wanted to be able to tell his son in person, so he could reassure him that he would still be there for him. Instead the conversation had taken place via telephone, while he ran damage control with Stephanie in Greenwich.

"Of course, babe. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with him? He’s your flesh and blood. I want him to be in his siblings lives." She answered with a frown, hoping he wasn’t thinking that she wanted to keep him away from his oldest son. That wasn’t her style, she could never fathom how some women could live with themselves after keeping their men away from their children that they had in previous relationships. She vowed never to be that sort of woman ever.

“I don’t mean to make it sound like you don’t want to get to know him. It’s just since our engagement, followed quickly by you getting sick. I haven’t spent much time in Texas on my off time. I’m getting a little worried that he’s going to start thinking that I don’t have time for him anymore.” He admitted with a sigh. Obviously he loved Stephanie very much, thus when she began getting ill unexpectedly, he was very concerned. So it went without saying that he spent as much time with her, taking care of her at the time. When they found out the cause of her illness was pregnancy, they were both shocked yet relieved. However, he still chose to be with her, while she suffered through her first trimester. He didn’t regret that decision, he just wished he had more time to spend with his family down in Texas, because they were important to him too.

Stephanie closed her eyes as she felt another pang of pain, trying her best to suppress the groan forming at her lips. Though it seemed she failed at hiding her discomfort as Mark began lightly rubbing her back again. Slowly she inhaled as she tried to formulate a reply that could be remotely comforting. They both knew that the distance in their homes would be an issue at some point, but they had hoped to work out a system, by the time they had wed. Then they had found out she was already pregnant, which threw all of their plans into limbo. She could easily admit that he was definitely giving up more ground than she had over the last few months. While she was still planning on celebrating her birthday with his family in Texas, which included his ex wife Jodi and his son, Gunner. That honestly wasn’t enough in the long run.

“Babe, maybe I should look into getting a doctor in Texas…” She suggested, looking off into space as she considered what it would take to relocate to Texas for a while. She figured that once she went on maternity leave that would give her a chance to set things up, so that she could eventually work out of Houston. Her family had the capability to travel a lot easier than Mark’s family, since her parents owned a private plane. So it made more sense for her to be the one to move at least for the time being.

“But what would that mean for your job at Titan Sports?” He asked, knowing how much her work meant to her in the long term. She was poised to eventually become one of her parents' successor, whether that meant taking Vince’s chairman of the board role or taking Linda’s position as CEO of the company somewhere down the road. It was fairly clear that she was being groomed for that legacy.

“I can still work out of Houston at least for a little while. Besides I was planning on taking a hiatus for a few months after the babies are born.” She whispered, her hand moving down to smooth over the small swell of her belly. She smiled at feeling his hand move to rest over hers.

“Thank you, sweetheart.” He whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her tempo. 

Instinctively she turned her head upward to look up at him, while moving her hand up to touch his cheek. “You don’t have to thank me, your family is my family too.” She replied, softly. 

“I know, but I feel I still owe you a thank you.” He said, pressing an appreciative kiss to her lips. He never would have predicted that after two failed marriages that Stephanie McMahon would end up being the love of his life, but here they were. While their relationship had been unconventional and a complete whirlwind over the last few months, he knew he wouldn’t change a thing for the world. He couldn’t help but feel extremely lucky that they had connected the way they did. 

xXx

Thankfully by the day of the pay per view, Stephanie was feeling slightly better. Her nausea was still an issue, but the shooting pains through her back and sides had subsided. Her doctor telling her that the pains were mostly likely due to the fact that her body was trying to make room to accommodate _two_ growing babies for the next several months. Though her doctor did tell her that if the pain persisted and became too overbearing to go to the hospital to be checked out.

Thus she found herself standing in the bathroom of her hotel suite, trying to apply her makeup and fix her hair. Normally she would have the glam squad do it for her, but she refused to leave the hotel looking like death. In between her attempts to use a curling iron on her hair, she was taking sips of the ginger tea that Mark and Shane had bought for her the other day. For the most part, it helped keep her nausea more manageable, but she wasn’t a fan of the taste.

“How you holding up?” Mark asked, peeking his head in the door of the bathroom.

“I think I’ll live.” She told him with a lopsided smile. “Though I might break someone in half, if they say the wrong thing to me today.”

Mark chuckled, walking fully into the bathroom to wrap his arms around her waist. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ll break them in half, so you don’t have to overexert yourself.” He joked, though she could tell by the look in his eyes that he would gladly make good on his threat.

Instinctively she leaned back into Mark, letting out a sigh. He leaned over to press a kiss to her tempo, before gently nuzzling his face into the side of her neck. His goatee tickling her skin enough to cause her to giggle, while her hand moved up to caress his cheek. “I love you, babe.” She whispered, turning her head to look him in the eyes.

“I love you too.” He whispered back, pressing a kiss to her lips. Slowly he urged her to turn around as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Playfully he tapped his nose against hers as he kissed her again. Things growing more heated between them as the seconds passed, however Stephanie broke the kiss, pressing her hand against his chest. 

“Later babe, when I feel like less of a trainwreck.” She promised, she hated to rebuff his affection, but she honestly didn’t trust herself not to suddenly vomit all over him in the middle of making out.

“It’s okay, sweetheart.” He whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. While he was more than willing to take whatever affection she was willing and able to give, he understood that she was still feeling sick. Gently he placed both his hands on the small swell of her belly, instinctively her hands moved to cover his. “I know the little ones have been wreaking havoc on you. I can only imagine what they will be like when they are finally born.” He chuckled, leaning his forehead against hers.

“They’ll be a handful for sure.” She giggled, leaning her head against his chest. Finally she sighed as she glanced back up at him. “I better finish getting ready so we can get to the arena.”

He simply nodded, pressing a quick kiss to her lips before exiting the bathroom to leave her to finish up what she was doing.

xXx

By the time Stephanie and Mark arrived at the arena, Marissa and Shane were already there helping to set things up for the Smackdown side. There was definitely a buzz going on, since Shane hadn’t been seen at any WWE events since he walked out just after the Alliance had lost the Survivor Series. There were a lot of questions swirling around about his presence, that even Eric Bischoff couldn’t stop himself for seeking the other McMahon out.

“Hey there, Shane. Long time, no see.” Bischoff said as he walked up to Shane who was in the middle of talking with a Smackdown crew member.

“Eric, can I help you with something?” He asked, nonchalantly. Though his expression was a tad more telling of his annoyance with standing near the man, who had almost had his pregnant sister attacked by his henchmen.

“No, I was just surprised to see you here. I thought you had given up working for the family business.”

“Not that it is any of your business, but I’m just here to support my sister. You remember her right? She’s the woman, you set up for an attack by your goons. Despite the fact that it was revealed that she’s pregnant.” Shane said dryly, looking like he might punch Bischoff himself.

“Oh come on now, I wasn’t going to hand her over to 3-Minute Warning. Why does everyone keep assuming that?” Eric asked, his tone completely disingenuous. “I’m a businessman, not a monster.”

“Right. So why did you have Rico work so hard to get her down to the ring?” Shane asked pointedly, not even bothering to hide his disdain for Bischoff.

Eric simply frowned, definitely not liking this new development. If Shane were around again, that could mean more trouble for him in the long term. Though before he could say anything, the sounds of loud crashes startled both men. They both turned around to see a commotion had broken out. It didn’t take long for Eric’s back to stiffen upon realizing that Rico had been jumped by Billy and Chuck.

The officials and security trying desperately to separate the three men. However Billy and Chuck would not be detoured from getting their revenge on Rico. Billy tossed Rico headfirst straight into a brick wall, busting the smaller man open. Chuck was quick to pounce on the bloody Rico, raining down fists on their former manager’s wounded forehead. While security and officials tried in vain to pull the three men apart. Shane began chuckling as Eric looked completely taken aback at the scene unfolding before them.

“Looks like Rico won’t be much help to you tonight.” Shane said with a grin. Suddenly he whistled loudly capturing everyone’s attention, including Billy and Chuck. “Save some energy for your match tonight, guys. My sister is counting on you to win against 3-Minute Warning.” He ordered in that McMahon signature voice that mirrored his father’s voice. Definitely a tone that was meant to be obeyed.

Billy and Chuck frowned as they released their hold on Rico. The bloodied man falling to the floor in a heap as his former tag team reluctantly stepped away from him. Both men shrugged off the hands of the officials and security trying to grab at them. 

“Leave them be.” Shane ordered, much to Eric’s chagrin, everyone obeyed him as if his word were law. “Come on, guys. There’s still work to be done.” He added after a moment, before turning to walk way.

Eric merely scowled but said nothing as he didn’t trust Shane not to have Billy and Chuck turn their venom on him. Silently he grumbled, while sucking his upper teeth in frustration. Between Marissa and Shane, he was certain that they would keep Stephanie shielded from further attacks from his side. He was definitely going to have to recalculate if he wanted to ensure Raw’s success over Smackdown.

xXx

While Stephanie had done her basic hair and makeup back at the hotel, she ended up going to the glam squad at the arena to make herself pay per view ready. If she had to be seen by thousands of people, then she wanted to look her best. Even if she still felt like trash. After they were finished fixing her up to look more television ready, she headed back to her office. She had already heard about what the guys had done to Rico, as far as she was concerned, he had it coming. He was just damn lucky that Mark hadn’t gotten ahold of him.

While she had been hoping that her mood would improve, that hope was short lived the moment she bumped into her ex-husband, Triple H. Instantly she inhaled sharply as he was the last person she had any desire to see, especially while she was feeling so sick. It wasn’t lost on her that nearly nine months ago, she had been trying so desperately to cling to this man. So much so that she had lied to him about being pregnant. She had even planned to go off her birth control, in order to make the lie reality. However that lie eventually led to the dissolution of their marriage, which had somehow been a blessing in disguise. If not for the breakdown of her relationship with Hunter, she and Mark wouldn’t have commiserated over the lost of their respective marriages. She never would have realized that the Phenom was in fact the love of her life. Now she and Mark were engaged and expecting their first children together. Despite the breakneck speed they were moving, everything between them felt absolutely right.

“Hey Steph, you’re looking well.” Hunter said, trying to sound cordial. While there was a part of him that remained bitter over what she had done to him toward the beginning of the year. He also tried to keep in mind that they had both moved on. Even if she seemed to be moving way faster than him, what with her engagement to Taker and her actual pregnancy.

“Thanks.” She replied, dryly. “Did you get lost Hunter? I’m fairly sure, Raw’s locker rooms are on the other side.” She added trying to keep her irritation at bay.

Out of instinct, Hunter opened his mouth to retort, but snapped his mouth shut as he realized it wasn’t worth getting into an argument with her. The last thing he wanted was to deal with the dead man, if he managed to upset her. And well given her condition, upsetting her wasn’t a hard feat by any stretch.

“Any chance, you and I can be in each other’s presence without sniping at each other?” Hunter asked, frankly. As long as he continued to work for the WWE, he knew he would be seeing Stephanie, so it was better just to try and get along with her.

Stephanie inhaled sharply again, before letting out a sigh. “No offense, Hunter. But I’m not really in the mood for socializing today. Frankly I feel like crap, so if you don’t mind, I want to go to my office.” She replied in all honesty.

Hunter’s expression softened for moment as angry as he had been with Stephanie for her lies, he couldn’t bring himself to completely hate her. He could still feel some empathy for her and her situation. “For what it is worth, I hope you feel better.” Hunter replied softly as he moved out of Stephanie’s way and headed toward the Raw locker rooms. His tone and expression catching Stephanie briefly off guard as she noted the sympathy in his eyes for that one second. She found herself glancing over her shoulder, watching his back retreat, while wondering what had just happened there.

Little did she realize the brief encounter had been witnessed by Paul Heyman. His mind already formulating more potential plans he could use against the Undertaker and Stephanie McMahon to ensure his client held onto the title for long as possible.

xXx

Stephanie finally made it back to her office to find Marissa and Shane waiting for her. The moment she shut the door, she let her shoulders sag, before letting out a sigh.

“You okay, Steph?” Shane asked with a slight frown, clearly worried about her.

“Yeah, I’m alright. I just bumped into Hunter and for once he was actually civil toward me.” She frowned, still feeling a little perplexed by that last look he gave her. She honestly wasn’t used to getting anything but venom and pure malice from the man. This was the man who had pedigree’d her at Wrestlemania and tried to send her packing from the WWE. So him showing her any type of sympathy toward her was completely unexpected.

“You’re looking a little thrown for a loop.” Marissa commented in an amused tone.

“Can you blame me? He’s been nothing but nasty to me since our break up.” Stephanie asked as she walked over to her desk and took a seat.

“Well you are one of the bosses. Sooner or later he had to smarten up.” Shane joked, lightly leaning against the edge of her desk.

Stephanie slightly smiled in spite of herself, while Marissa outright giggled. “Maybe. How did the preparations go?” She asked, quite grateful that both Marissa and Shane had handled things in her stead, since she wasn’t sure she had it in her to do the normal run around. Especially considering how crappy she felt just the day before and how she was feeling currently. 

“Everything has gone as scheduled. So far so good.” Marissa reassured her. “You’re going to need to cut some backstage promos, but that’s about it for now.”

Stephanie nodded, mentally preparing herself to put on her boss facade and do what needed to be done.

xXx

Mark hadn’t been very social since he had gotten to the arena, after parting ways with Stephanie, he made a beeline to the locker rooms. While he was going to be sharing with Kurt and couple of other Smackdown guys, he found himself alone for the moment. The others heading over to catering to eat an early dinner before they had to start getting dressed and doing their warm ups for the show later that night. Thus Mark found himself pacing as he tried to get his head back into the game. When he went up against Brock, he needed to be fully there and not worrying after Stephanie. It helped that both Shane and Marissa were with her, so he knew she was in good hands. 

But Heyman and Lesnar had managed to get into his head more than he had been letting on. Eric Bischoff’s attack on Stephanie the following week had only helped to stir up fears, he so desperately tried to hide. He’d been putting on a brave face because that was what was expected of him. His reputation not really allowing him the chance to look vulnerable not even for a second. So immersed in his thoughts, he didn’t hear when the door to the locker room opened.

“Oh, hey man. Didn’t realize you were in here already.” Came Eddie Guerrero’s voice.

Taker glanced up quickly, his pacing coming to an immediate halt at seeing the other man. “I take it you aren’t hungry either?” Taker asked as he dropped down on the bench with a sharp inhale.

While he and Eddie were not the closest of friends, they were both considered locker room leaders, based on their experience and years in the business alone. Thus the two men shared a mutual respect for one another.

“Nah, I had a big lunch.” Eddie replied, looking Taker over thoughtfully before taking a seat beside him. “So how are you doing, man?” He asked, his tone implying that he was interested in a real answer and not an automatic generic one.

Taker found himself sighing at the candid nature of Eddie’s voice. While instinctively he wanted to retort with one of his signature barriers, Eddie was one of the few performers that he knew wouldn’t gossip about him. “I’m not going to lie, I’ve been better.” He admitted after a long moment of silence.

“Wanna talk about it?” Eddie asked, though he had a good idea of what was troubling the man. Despite his own heel tactics on camera, even he didn’t think Heyman and Bischoff’s tactics were in good taste. While he understood that Stephanie McMahon was not just the boss of Smackdown, but considered one of the onscreen talent. That didn’t mean she deserved to have her private business dragged out and paraded in front of the crowds. Especially when she had been doing her best to be a neutral party for all the guys and ladies in the locker room.

“Not really, I think by now everyone knows my business.” Taker grumbled, leaning back against one of the lockers.

“True, but I thought you might need to vent.” Eddie replied with a smirk.

That response got a chuckle out of Taker as he noted the warmth that touched Eddie’s eyes. Lightly he clapped the smaller man on the shoulder. “Thanks for the thought, man. I appreciate it, but the walls around this place are too thin for my taste.” Taker replied, a small smile finding his lips.

“Fair enough. Hey man, you and Steph should come visit me, Vicki and the girls some time. We’ll show you two some genuine Guerrero hospitality. I bet that would distract you both for a little while.” Eddie offered, just because he and Mark were not the best of friends, didn’t mean he didn’t consider the man to be a friend.

Taker looked surprised by the invitation and for a moment he had no idea how to respond. They both lived out in Texas but different cities. So it wasn’t like it would be a terrible inconvenience to consider. “I’ll talk to Steph and see what she says.” He replied, it wasn’t a yes, but he wasn’t say no either.

“Yeah, I get it. Vicki didn’t like socializing much during her first pregnancy either. Pobrecita! The first couple of months, she had the worst morning sickness. I felt so bad for her, especially when I was out on the road. I would call her to check up on her and sometimes she couldn’t even make it to the phone. But she got through it. She’s a trooper, just like Steph.” Eddie said, hoping to offer Mark a little peace of mind. “Man it really feels like it was only yesterday that I was holding my mijitas in my arms. They are both growing up so fast.”

Taker found himself chuckling again, some of the pressure lifted from his shoulders for a moment. While he may not have been very active during Jodi’s pregnancy with Gunner. He _was_ there to see him be born and he remembered quite clearly the feeling he got when he first held his little man in his arms. He was actually looking forward to feeling that way again when the twins finally arrived. “I know the feeling, my little man is sprouting up pretty quickly too. I think one day I’m going to blink and he’s going to be a grown man.” Taker admitted, a little of the guilt he felt for not spending time with his son recently surfacing.

Eddie caught the brief flash of guilt on Taker’s face and nodded, he knew that feeling quite well. He wrestled not just to provide for his family, but because the business was in his blood and he figured Mark likely felt similarly. “The wrestling business can be such a harsh mistress in that way.” Eddie slightly joked. “At least you and Stephanie both share a passion for the business. So hopefully neither of you will be resentful down the road for choices made for the business.”

Taker blinked a moment as Eddie’s words registered with him. He hadn’t really looked at things from that perspective. He knew how wrestling had affected his relationships with Jodi and later Sara, but neither woman had really truly shared his passion for the business the way Stephanie shared in it. Her family was the reason he was a success in the world of sports entertainment. While she didn’t actively compete, she understood what it meant to be a wrestler. “Thanks for the talk, man.” Mark finally replied, giving Eddie another pat on the shoulder. “I needed it, more than I realized.” He added with a nod.

“Hey no problem, man.” Eddie said with a grin. “Now make sure you teach the rookie a lesson tonight he won’t forget!” He added with an amused laugh.

“Oh I plan on giving that boy the lesson of a lifetime!” Taker retorted with a laugh of his own. As far as Mark was concerned, Brock needed a lesson in humility as all the success was going to his head and he was just the man to burst the kid’s bubble.

xXx

Later in the night as the pay per view got under way, the audience was caught up to speed when footage of Billy and Chuck beating the hell out of Rico was shown. Quickly followed by footage of Rico being stretchered out of the venue. When the footage was finished the cameras cut to Jonathan Coachman standing by with Stephanie McMahon along with Billy and Chuck.

“After what happened earlier with Rico, do you have anything to say to your fellow General Manager, Ms. McMahon?” Coachman asked.

“I think Billy and Chuck’s actions speak louder than anything I could say. I told Bischoff not to take them lightly and now everyone including Rico can see why. As far as I am concerned, these guys are going to wreck 3-Minute Warning.” She said firmly.

Billy and Chuck simply nodded as their agreement, before Billy leaned over to grab Coachman’s wrist and lift the microphone toward himself. “I got something to say to Bischoff. Your boys are going down, so you should probably get ready for that asswhooping you’re going to receive from the Undertaker.” Billy laughed.

A sadistic smile stretched across Stephanie’s face as she gestured to the guys that the interview was over. Thus they walked off without another word, leaving Coachman looking bewildered. Quickly the cameras switched over to Bischoff, Rosey and Jamal looking at the monitor, clearly Bischoff was frowning.

“Those guys are so full of themselves!” He snapped, looking like he wanted to kick the monitor over.

“Don’t worry, boss! We ain’t going to let those pretty boys win anything!” Jamal stated, punching his fist into his own palm. “We’re going to rearrange their faces.”

“And after the pretty boys go down, Stephanie McMahon will have no choice but to partake in some HLA!” Rosey added confidently.

Bischoff smirked, slowly he nodded his head. “Just make sure you keep your word, because if I end up left alone with the Undertaker, you two are going to be collecting unemployment!” He threatened, making sure they knew how dire the situation was for them as well.

xXx

Brock found himself sharing locker room with Edge, Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio. Both Rey and Edge had changed back into their street clothes as they had finished their respective matches earlier in the night, leaving Brock and Benoit on their own. Though Brock didn’t care as he watched the monitor in the room intently, when Stephanie had been talking about Bischoff. He had to admit that she had a good poker face, but he could see that she was struggling. And if she were struggling, than her fiancé was likely worried about her. While he was fully prepared to crush the Undertaker regardless of the man’s mindset. Brock would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little relieved that Paul had found a weak point in the man’s armor. Something that they could use to get inside the man’s head and really fuck up his focus.

However the intensity of his gaze at the monitor was only matched by the intensity of the stare that Benoit was giving to him. Both men had been mostly silent, since coming into the locker room earlier in the night. “You got something to say to me, Benoit?” Brock asked, not looking away from the monitor.

“Is Stephanie McMahon your opponent or the Undertaker?” Benoit asked frankly.

Brock’s automatically snapped away from the monitor to look toward Benoit with a glare. “What the fuck is that suppose to mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” Benoit replied coldly. Clearly there was no love lost between the two men, but they hadn’t mixed it up that much at all yet. While Benoit was looking forward to taking on the rookie because not only was the kid the champion, but he enjoyed a challenge. He didn’t quite care for the kid’s attitude when it came to facing the veterans of the locker room. “We all knew when Taker came over to Smackdown that he and Stephanie were together in their personal lives. But you and Heyman have been turning them into an actual unit professionally too.” He added. He couldn’t help but feel like Brock and Paul were screwing over the entire locker room at large by bringing Taker and Stephanie together in front of the cameras.

“What? Are you worried she’s going to repeat history and run through everyone like she did when she was married to Triple H?” Brock retorted with a sneer. “Come on, Benoit. Her shelf life is limited right now. She’s got a few more months at best and then she’ll be out of here. Then who will be there to favor Taker?”

Benoit simply shook his head, the rookie really did not know jack shit about the McMahons if he thought things were that straight forward. “If you really think that a baby is going to keep her away indefinitely then you really don’t know a damn thing about the McMahons.” Benoit replied with a scoff. “She may end up leaving for a year at best, but she’ll be back and she won’t have forgotten how you and your agent treated her. She’s a McMahon and they all hold grudges. Your best hope to avoid their wrath behind the scenes is to keep being a draw, because the moment you stop making them money, they are going to fucking bury you, kid.” Benoit added, before getting up and leaving the locker room.

Brock glared at the shorter man’s back as he walked out the room. Though he was seething, he hated to admit that Benoit may have a point. Angrily he climbed to his feet and pushed the monitor off its stand, watching smash against the floor.

xXx

As the time approached for the interpromotional match to take place, Mark had made his way to Stephanie’s office to watch the match with her, Shane and Marissa. The cameraman following after him much to his dismay, but they had already known that their reactions would be filmed for the public to view. The moment he walked into her office, he was immediately greeted by Shane with a hand slap and a half hug.

“Hey man, you ready for your match tonight?” Shane asked as they both released their grasp on each other.

“Hell yeah, I’m ready.” He replied with a nod as he was immediately greeted by Marissa next. Who gave him a quick peck on the cheek and brief hug. In that time, Stephanie had gotten up from behind her desk and moved around to lean against the front of it.

“Hey babe.” She said softly as he walked over to her and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. Since the camera was behind them, filming their interactions, he chose to hug her and bury his face against the side of her ear.

“Are you feeling better?” He whispered, low enough for only her to hear. She merely nodded in response, while lightly patting his upper back. It wasn’t exactly the truth, but she didn’t want him to worry and be distracted during his main event match. He pulled away, but pressed another kiss to her lips before moving to take a seat on the sofa in the office.

Stephanie glanced over to the cameraman and signaled for him to leave for now as the crowd and Bischoff didn’t need to be privy to everything they were saying while watching Billy and Chuck take on 3-Minute Warning. The moment the cameraman stepped out of the office and left them alone, Marissa got up and locked the door.

“I swear some days, it feels like we are on reality television.” Marissa sighed, dropping down on the sofa next to Mark. “How do you three put up with it?”

Stephanie, Shane and Mark all shrugged, they were just used to it by now. “You get use to it, sis. It’s still annoying but after a while you learn to tune them out.” Stephanie said, sitting down on the sofa on the opposite side of Mark, who automatically wrapped an arm around her. Instinctively she snuggled into his side, while resting her hand on his midsection.

“Pretty much.” Shane agreed as he sat down on one of the armchairs in the room. “May as well get used to it now, since you’ll be here for a few more months yet.” He told his wife, before turning his attention to the monitor. “Billy and Chuck are on fire, hopefully that translates into them beating the crap out of 3-Minute Warning.” Shane added.

Down in the ring, as soon as Billy and Chuck’s music hit, they two were men on a mission as they ran down the entrance walkway and made a beeline for the two men in the ring. The bell barely rang and the four men were immediately pummeling each other. While Jamal and Rosey had the weight advantage, Billy and Chuck still had the experience as they had been wrestling as a tag team longer than Bischoff’s heavies. Finally the referee managed to get the match under control as Chuck and Rosey continued to fight in the ring, while Jamal and Billy went to their corner to await being tagged.

After a while Rosey and Jamal managed to isolate Chuck and keep him from tagging out to Billy. The crowd were a mix of reactions, but it seemed that Billy and Chuck were getting more support as many in the crowd wanted to see Bischoff in the ring with the Undertaker. Slowly but surely Chuck began mounting a comeback, while Billy shouted encouragement from their corner of the ring. 

Billy stomping on the apron, hitting the turnbuckle, while trying to hype the crowd up for them. It seemed to be working as Chuck dug deep and hit Jamal with a superkick, giving him the chance to scramble to his team’s side of the ring to tag in Billy. The crowd practically exploded with excitement as Billy came into the ring with a torch lit under him. He goes toe to toe with Jamal, however Rosey quickly jumped into the ring to double team him. Though that plan seemed to backfire when Billy hit the famouser on Jamal as Chuck ran in and hit Rosey with a superkick.

The crowd once again erupting when Billy got the three count on Jamal, giving Smackdown the victory in the interpromotional brand match.

“Well sis, looks like you’re spare having to do any hot lesbian action for Bischoff.” Shane laughed as he got up to unlock the office door. He knew it wouldn’t be long before the cameraman came back. Though it had been decided earlier that whoever lost, they would receive their punishment after the Raw’s World Heavyweight title match.

“Try not to commit murder, Mark.” Stephanie said with a small laugh as she grasped his neck.

“I make no promises.” He replied, pressing a kiss to her lips. After a moment, they turned their attention back to the monitor to see Rob Van Dam heading down to the ring.

“Have any of you been keeping track of what is going on with Rob and Hunter?” Shane asked curiously.

“As if I have time to keep up with Raw match ups.” Stephanie scoffed.

“I’m pretty sure Rob is getting screwed tonight.” Marissa stated out of nowhere, causing everyone to glance at her confused.

“What makes you say that, sis?” Stephanie asked, sitting up to look across Taker to see Marissa’s face better.

“I saw Hunter and Ric talking to each other, while they thought everyone was having dinner. Looks like he needed a new ally since he doesn’t have the McMahons in his corner anymore.” She said with a shrug. 

“Well at least Flair doesn’t have any actual power to fall back on.” Stephanie retorted.

“Bischoff will probably let them run rough shot on Raw regardless. He did just hand over the title to Triple H without even having a match for it.” Shane said with a shrug.

“So glad I left that shit show. I was not going to put up with Bischoff’s shit. Especially not after the screw job on that number one’s contender match.” Mark piped up, while tightening his arm around Stephanie. Instinctively she lightly ran her hand over his midsection in a calming gesture. She remembered when they discussed him moving over to Smackdown as he was quickly growing disgruntled with Raw and Bischoff. While she had been hesitant at first to approve the move, his unhappiness after Summerslam was enough to change her mind.

_It had been the night of Summerslam, while Undertaker had won his match against Test, he had a feeling that he wouldn’t get back into the title hunt afterwards. Despite the fact that he by all rights should have gotten a rematch, since he had lost the title back in July and he wasn’t even the one who got pinned. Stephanie had sat on the bed in their suite, watching him as he paced back and forth across the room. Clearly he was frustrated and she truly hated to see him like that._

_“Babe, you’re working yourself up over nothing. It doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow on Raw. I promise you that.” She had finally spoke up. While she had wanted to keep things a surprise, she knew Mark wouldn’t tell anyone._

_“What do you mean?” Mark asked, finally sitting down on the bed beside her._

_“I spoke to Heyman and Brock tonight. Tomorrow is their final appearance on Raw as they are going exclusive to Smackdown, along with the WWE title.” She admitted. “Soooo, remember when you first talked to me about changing over to Smackdown?”_

_Mark seemed to perk up at the news. “Of course, I remember. I also remember you thinking it might not be a good idea, since you might come off as playing favorites again.” He retorted, she reached out and grabbed his face, forcing him to look her directly in the eyes._

_“I still think that, but you’re unhappy on Raw. That’s more important to me than what people might think of me.” She said, her sincerity shining through. His happiness was far more important to her than people’s perceptions of her. “Besides, call me selfish. I need to see my man more than a couple of days a week, especially when I’m carrying his baby.” She added with a playful smirk._

_Instinctively he leaned in to kiss her, pulling her into his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her forehead against his. “Thank you, darling.” He whispered, giving her the most grateful expression._

She was shaken from her memories, when there was a knock at her office door. Marissa got up and answered it to make sure that it wasn’t an undesirable on the other side. Thankfully it was just the cameraman wanting to set up for Stephanie and Taker’s entrance to ringside for Bischoff’s punishment.

xXx

The crowd broke out into cheers as Stephanie’s music began to play. Though they really erupted the moment they saw her walking out with the Undertaker right behind her.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, accompanied to the ring by the _Undertaker_ , the General Manager of Smackdown, Stephanie McMahon!” The ring announcer called out to the approval of the crowd.

Taker held the ropes open to make her easier for her to climb into the ring. Momentarily she stood in the middle of the ring, taking in the applause of the audience. Finally she was handed a microphone, so she could address the crowd.

“So as you all know, Raw and Smackdown had a bet going on for the 3-Minute Warning vs Billy and Chuck match tonight. Since Billy and Chuck won the match, that means that Eric Bischoff gets to spend three minutes in the ring with the Undertaker here.”

Once again the crowd roared with approval and excitement over the idea that they were going to get to see Bischoff get his ass kicked. Suddenly ‘Bischoff sucks’ chants broke out. Stephanie simply smiled, clearly enjoying the fact that Smackdown won the challenge.

“With that said. Bischoff if you want to keep your job as Raw General Manager, you better get out here! We haven’t got all night!” She ordered. 

The moment Bischoff’s music hit the speaker system, the crowd began booing him. While the chants of ‘Bischoff sucks’ continued. The man himself walked out looking equal parts pissed and worried. Mid walk down the aisle, he paused to glare at Stephanie, who was still standing in the ring.

“Come on, Eric. You made the challenge, now it is time for you to pay up.” Stephanie said with the most sadistic smile on her face, very much mirroring that of her father’s, Vince McMahon.

Eric simply grumbled as he continued his track down to the ring. Though he was slow to climb onto the ring apron. However Taker didn’t wait for Bischoff to climb inside the ring, he immediately sprinted forward and kicked him off the apron.

“Set the timer!” Stephanie shouted into the microphone as a large timer appeared on the large screens in the arena. She climbed out of the ring as the time keeper rang the bell. Undertaker was on Bischoff before the smaller man could react. Meanwhile Stephanie took a seat at the commentator’s table to enjoy the view. Smackdown’s commentators, Tazz and Michael Cole were just laughing at Bischoff’s misfortune. 

Bischoff spent a few good seconds trying to beg for mercy, but there would be none for him. The fear struck expression on his face said it all when he found the Undertaker’s hand wrapped around his throat. The next thing he knew, he was being hoisted into the air for a chokeslam. The crowd was standing on their feet, enjoying the decimation of the Raw General Manager. When Taker signaled for the last ride, he pointed toward Stephanie for her approval. A devious smile spread across her face as she nodded her agreement.

He easily picked Bischoff up and hoisted him into the air, gripping the smaller man’s pants as he drove him into the mat. The crowd practically roaring their own approval, while chanting for him to do it again. The Undertaker looked toward Stephanie once more for her opinion on the matter. She simply shrugged before picking the microphone up off the table.

“You can’t deny the people what they want to see.” She said, getting an even bigger pop from the crowd. He nodded as he went to pick Bischoff up again, the man barely able to stand as he was suddenly lifted up and powerbombed into the mat one more time. Stephanie held up a thumbs down sign and Taker took it as the signal that she wanted to see him tombstone Bischoff as well. Thus he grabbed Bischoff by the throat and roughly pulled him upwards, before lifting him up and flipping upside down onto his shoulder. Just as the timer was winding down, Taker came down onto his knees, dropping Bischoff on his head.

As the timer went off, Stephanie stood back up and straightened her suit jacket as Taker got out of the ring, leaving Bischoff completely laid out. The pair shared a kiss before making their exit to the thunderous applause of the audience.

xXx

After a great match up between Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle, the moment of truth had arrived for Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker. Stephanie sat in her office with Shane and Marissa watching on the monitor. Part of her dreading the match just because she knew how personal both men had let the situation become. Truly it wasn’t lost on her that two of her biggest draws for Smackdown could end up putting each other out, potentially for good.

“You sure, you want to watch this match, Steph?” Shane asked, definitely noting the worry settling in her features.

“Yeah, I’ll just worry myself worse if I don’t watch it.” She admitted, knowing her imagination would supply way more brutal images.

“It’ll be okay, sis.” Marissa said, while hoping the guys would get some of the aggression out of their system.

Out in the ring, Taker and Brock didn’t waste any time letting into one another. The referee having the hardest time keeping control over things. It was fairly clear to everyone that both men were out for blood, the title itself was just incidental. The two monsters brawling in the ring and out of the ring. Though for a little bit, Brock tried to take it to the mat and force Taker to wrestle. However as many opponents have done in the past, he had taken for granted just how well the Undertaker could actually wrestle, countering some of his best moves to turn disadvantages into advantages.

The moment that Brock managed to bust open the Undertaker, it seemed like his victory would be insured. Luckily the gash wasn’t serious enough to put Taker down, he simply fought through the pain and continued to take it to the rookie champion, pushing him in ways that he hadn’t been pushed before. Of course Heyman attempted to cheat for Brock, pushing a chair into the ring when the referee got knocked down.

The moment Brock grabbed a hold of the chair and went for Taker, he got a big boot to the face. Taker didn’t waste any time retrieving the fallen chair and bringing it down on Brock’s head. Not once but twice, knocking the young champion out of the ring. As Taker got out of the ring, Paul Heyman began screaming at him to leave Brock alone. This earning him a punch to the face from the Undertaker, sending the loudmouth agent flying back into the barrier and partly into the front row of the audience. Slowly Brock began to stir on the floor, the moment he lifted his face up everyone could see the blood pouring down his forehead. This being the absolute first time in his wrestling career that anyone had ever made him bleed his own blood.

“Geez, Mark is not playing with that kid.” Shane grimaced, while Stephanie remained silent.

“Brock’s a tough kid. He’ll recover, hopefully he’ll be a little smarter about how he decides to pick his fights.” Marissa replied, lightly shaking her head as it was just nuts to her that they let things escalate as far as they had.

Meanwhile ringside, Taker had tried to pin Brock, but the kid wasn’t staying down, he downright refused to lose the match and his title. Both men seemingly gathering a second wind as they began pummeling each other in the corner turnbuckle. The referee desperately trying to pull the two men apart, before he was forced to disqualify one of them. Though try as he might they wouldn’t stop punching each other in the corner. The referee taking several hits from both men to the point that he finally gave up and called for the bell. The fans immediately began booing as they realized that the match would not have a decisive winner. Several officials and security ran out to try and separate them, but they kept on fighting each other. The fight continued out of the ring, down the entrance walkway until Taker threw Brock through the pay per view set sign.

“Oh fuck’s sake!” Stephanie snapped, getting to her feet and making a beeline for the door.

“Wait!” Shane shouted after his sister who had already stormed out of the office. Quickly he and Marissa followed after her as she made her way to Gorilla position and out toward the entrance to the ring. Brock was still laid out with several officials checking on him, while the others tried to calm the Undertaker down. The crowd were still a mix of boos and cheers, quite upset that they didn’t get to see a clear cut winner. Taker continued to push the officials away trying to get to Brock, until Stephanie moved into his path, stopping him dead in his tracks.

“Sorry babe, but enough is enough.” She warned, thankfully the broadcast feed had ended after he had thrown Brock through the sign. So only the crowd in the arena would witness this moment, even if they couldn’t hear what was being said.

His gaze was glassy, a sure sign that he wasn’t fully there anymore. Thus she was taking a huge chance, while he was on the rush of adrenaline and rage. The officials attempted to pull her back, but she gestured for them to back off. “I got this!” She snapped, while keeping her hands held up in front of Taker. “Come on, babe.” She said softly, the crowd began chanting for her. “Come back to me, now.” She added, choosing to step closer to him.

Slowly he began blinking again, some of that self awareness surfacing in his gaze. “Steph?” He asked as if he were actually seeing her for the first time. Clearly he was confused as she closed the distance between them and grasped his face in relief.

“There you are.” She sighed, quickly she pressed a kiss to his lips before hugging him. Still looking confused he instinctively wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back.

Heyman slowly stood as he and some of the officials got Brock back on his feet. He couldn’t help but look on shocked as Stephanie McMahon talked the Undertaker down from his rage mode. He honestly hadn’t realized just how much influence the woman had over the man, until he witnessed her risk herself and her unborn child to stop Taker from going after Brock further.

“What just happened?” Brock asked grasping his head.

“Stephanie stopped the Undertaker from coming after you again.” Heyman said as he urged the Next Big Thing to head toward the backstage, so he could get sorted out by the trainers.

Meanwhile Taker continued to hug Stephanie tightly as his mind fully returned to him. He couldn’t remember the last time, he had lost it so badly. He scarcely remembered the end of the match, let alone the moment when Stephanie ended up in front of him. “What happened?” He whispered.

“Baby, you went a little berserk there.” She replied, not even caring that he was bleeding on her. “Come on, you need to get checked out.” She added, urging him to come with her to the back. 

The officials remained on their guard as the pair slowly started walking to the backstage entrance. The crowd cheered for them as the announcer thanked everyone for attending the event and made sure to remind them to tune into Raw and Smackdown in the coming week.


	5. Another Curve Ball!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie throws Mark and Brock a swerve that neither ever saw coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to note that while I know in terms of kayfabe that the rosters for Raw and Smackdown were frozen before Unforgiven 2002, I don't really care in terms of my story. Since I'm changing much of what happened in canon to account for Stephanie and Mark's relationship anyway. I won't be adhering strictly to canon for how things play out in this story. Expect many curve balls and swerves to come from me as we go along!

He awoke with a start, wildly looking around the darkened hotel room. For a moment, he had no idea where he was or any recollection of how he had gotten there. That was until he heard the sounds of someone vomiting in the bathroom. Slowly he sat up in bed, instantly grimacing as his head and neck protested the sharp movement. It was as he brought his hand up to rub his head that he caught sight of the hospital band on his wrist, causing him to frown.

"Hey you, how are you feeling?" A familiar yet slightly breathless voice asked him.

He glanced up to see Stephanie standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Her face still flushed from just emptying the contents of her stomach only moments earlier. He couldn't keep the confused look off of his face as it had been a long time since he took a bump bad enough that it affected his memory after the fact. He hated to admit it to himself, but the kid had really worked him over.

"Memories still spotty...I don't even remember going to the hospital…" He trailed off as Stephanie moved across the room to sit on the bed beside him.

"Yeah, you've been out of it, since last night after the show. You definitely have a concussion. I took you off your house show appearances this week and next week." She said, pressing a light kiss to his forehead.

He opened his mouth to protest as this wasn't the first concussion he had ever suffered, but her fingers landed on his lips. "My parents are the ones who insisted you take the time off and I agree with them. You can still make your Smackdown appearances though." She told him as her hands moved to gently grasp his neck. "Babe, you really had us worried. You snapped, it was like no one was home." She added, her eyes beginning to glisten in spite of herself.

"Steph…" He started, but he honestly didn't know what to say or what he even could say to the look she was giving him. "Were Brock and Heyman right then?" He asked, hearkening back to when Heyman had decided to announce her pregnancy and the things he had said leading up to that reveal.

Lightly she shook her head as she grasped his face. "No, not even close. Brock has a concussion too. So he's off of house shows for the next two weeks as well. You did to him what nobody has done to him, since his debut in the WWE. He's been squashing people left and right, but you squashed him back. Just like you said you were going to do to him." She told him, leaning in to rest her forehead against his. Instinctively he moved his head to rest against her shoulder as she lightly rubbed her hand over his back. "Babe, it honestly wasn't the match itself that scared me, it was afterwards. You were entirely out of control, just gone and all that was left was a monster full of murderous rage. Everyone was worried that you'd attack even me."

His back stiffened at that last statement as he lifted his head up to look into her eyes. "I could _never_ be that gone…" He whispered, bringing his hands up to grasp her face. "I would never hurt _you_ , Steph."

"I know, babe. I was kinda banking on it, when I came between you and Brock." She replied, unable to contain her tears as she brought her hands up to rest at his wrists. "But I would be lying if I said I wasn't frightened for you. I didn't know if you'd be able to find your way back."

He automatically brushed the tears away from her eyes as he felt incredibly guilty for letting himself get _that_ caught up in his rage that he almost disappeared. He never wanted to make her worry for him like that. Despite her earlier reassurances, he couldn't help but think that maybe Heyman had been right. He was usually so much better about keeping business and his personal life separate. He and Stephanie had even managed to keep their budding relationship a secret the first couple of months, they had decided to date. The loudmouth and the kid had really thrown him off his game and he hated more than anything acknowledging that they had done what very few people had ever managed to do to him.

"I'm sorry, Steph." He sighed, pulling her fully into his arms and hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, her body relaxing in his arms. Slowly he pulled back to look into her glistening blue eyes, suddenly their lips collided. A deep sense of urgency and desperation driving the both of them, despite his head hurting and her still feeling nauseous. The heat between them quickly escalating to the point they impatiently undressed one another. Before either could register their actions, he pressed her back against the pillows, while she wrapped one of her legs around his waist.

Later, they found themselves lying beside each other, breathless and covered in sweat as she rested her head against his chest, while he held her warm body close to him. The small swell of her abdomen pressing against his side. Lightly he rubbed a hand over her bare shoulder, while her hand rubbed over his chest and midsection. She couldn't help but nuzzle her face into the side of his neck, pressing a playful kiss to jawline. "I love you, Mark." She whispered, before resting her head on his shoulder again.

"I love you too, Steph." He whispered back, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

xXx

Despite his injuries from his match at the pay per view, they decided to stick to their original plans. Her birthday was only a day away, and she wanted to celebrate it in Texas with his family. Especially given the fact that their pregnancy announcement had been stolen from them in the first place. They had already made the arrangements, so the last thing either wanted was to cancel things and disappoint the family and friends that had confirmed they would be attending. Even Shane, Marissa and several of her friends from Greenwich were coming down to Texas for the occasion.

It had been quite a while since she had been in Texas, that she had almost forgotten how beautiful Mark's home was. While she loved her home in Greenwich, she couldn't deny how welcoming and warm his place felt. Especially when she was greeted by his three big dogs, almost immediately she bent down to dote on the overgrown puppies. "Hey there, boys. Did you miss me?" She cooed, while scratching behind the ears of one of the dogs as the other two sniffed and licked at her face. One of them paying particularly close attention to her belly as he seemed to whine and paw at her.

"Oh, what's the matter?" She asked, gently grabbing a hold of his paw, while he whined further.

"Zeus, probably smells the babies." Mark offered as he knelt down beside Stephanie to rub the big dog's head. "Is that it buddy? Are the little ones confusing you?" He asked, earning himself a sniff to the face, immediately followed by Zeus trying to lick at the bandage covering his forehead. Instinctively Mark pulled back, not really wanting the dog to lick at his wound.

"He's like a papa, trying to take care of you." Stephanie giggled, slowly climbing back to her feet.

Mark simply smiled as he stood with her, pulling her in for a hug and kiss. Though the moment was interrupted by the sound of her cell phone ringing. Regretfully she pulled away from his grasp with a sigh. "Sorry babe, I gotta answer this." She told him, pulling her phone from her pocket as she walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor, with two of the dogs on her heels.

Zeus opting to stay by Mark's side as he rubbed the big dog's head. Once again, the big dog whined at him. "I'm okay, big guy." He said as he turned to walk into the kitchen. Suddenly his own cell phone began ringing. He sighed as he pulled it out of his pocket and looked down at the display. "Hey mom, how's it going?" He answered as he leaned against one of the kitchen counters.

"Better now, that I'm hearing your voice. How are _you_ doing?" She asked pointedly.

"I'm alright, mom. I just ended up with a concussion." He said matter of factly. He always downplayed his injuries no matter who he was speaking too. Though he always made it a point of not making a big deal of them to his mother especially as he didn't want her constantly worrying after him.

"Is that all?" She continued to interrogate him. He lifted an eyebrow, wondering why she was acting so persistent. Usually she took his word straight away.

"What's going on, mom?" He finally asked, not really in the mood to indulge her. Obviously something was wrong for her to be grilling him over his injuries of all things.

"I tried calling you last night, but I got Marissa. She tried downplaying things, but she sounded genuinely worried about you. Try as that sweet lady might, a mother knows when something's wrong!" She insisted.

Mark's shoulders stiffened as he inhaled sharply. "Mom, I was just out of it last night because of the concussion. But I'm feeling better today. You can see for yourself tomorrow. You and Dad are still coming over for Stephanie's birthday dinner right?" He asked, hoping to divert her attention.

"Of course, honey! How is my future daughter-in-law feeling today?" She asked, finally distracted from her son's health conditions.

"She's doing alright. She's been having good and bad days but today has been a good day for her." He admitted, his mind slightly distracted by the memories of how he and Stephanie had spent the early hours of the morning.

"Has she been able to eat right? Even with morning sickness, I can't have her and my grandbaby starving." His mother questioned, turning her concerns for Mark's health into concerns for her future daughter-in-law and her grandbaby.

Mark laughed, while shaking his head. His mother was always an outspoken spitfire, but she was such a worrier as well. "She's not starving, mom. She's taking care of herself and your grandbaby just fine. Besides you know I've been looking out of her." He reassured her.

"I know, dear." She replied, her voice softening. He could hear the hint of pride in her voice. While his parents had been saddened that things had fallen apart with his second wife, Sara. They seemed to really take a liking to Stephanie. Though he was pretty sure that was because they realized that she was nothing like the heel persona she previously played on television. "Are there any specific dishes I should bring tomorrow?"

"Well...if you want to stand a chance of Stephanie eating it, nothing with mayonnaise in it. Just the smell of it, makes her nauseous." He told her, his voice laced with amusement. Knowing full well that any of the salad dishes his mother liked to bring to family gatherings wouldn't get touched by his fiancée.

"Alright then, I'll keep that in mind." His mother chuckled, likely picking up on what he was thinking. "I'll see you tomorrow, hon."

"Okay, see you tomorrow, mom. I love you." He replied, softly.

"I love you too, hon." She responded before disconnecting the call.

He pocketed his phone with another sigh, before deciding to go check on Stephanie upstairs. "Come on, boy." He called to Zeus to follow him. Though once Zeus realized where they were headed, he bounded up the stairs first, running down the hallway to the open door leading into Mark's master bedroom.

Stephanie sat on the edge of the bed her legs dangling off, while the other two dogs laid on the floor underneath her feet. Zeus immediately breaking the mold as he ran forward and leaped onto the bed, dropping his head into Stephanie's lap. She couldn't stop herself from laughing, even as she was still on the phone.

"No, it's nothing." She said into the phone as she scratched behind Zeus' ears. "Look, we can discuss details further on Thursday...I'll see you then." She added, before hanging up the phone. She glanced up to see Mark standing in the doorway, the loving look in his eyes almost making her melt. "What is it?" She asked after a moment.

"Just wishing I had my camera." He teased, walking into the room to close the gap between them. He leaned in to kiss her, however Zeus decided he wanted to lick them both, thus interrupting them. Stephanie giggled as Mark lightly reprimanded his eldest dog. "Zeus down." He commanded. Reluctantly Zeus jumped off the bed to join the other two dogs on the floor.

Stephanie took the opportunity to brush her fingers over Mark's forehead, just very much relieved that he seemed to be back to his old self. The memory of his glassy eyed gaze from the last night had been a disturbing one and it wouldn't be one that she would forget easily. However she could put it aside for the here and now.

xXx

It was the evening of Stephanie's birthday, most of the guests had arrived, thus she found herself mingling. The dress she had chosen to wear, definitely showing that she was pregnant, despite not officially being in her second trimester yet. Though most of the comments she received were that the baby was probably going to be big like his or her father. Stephanie merely laughed and agreed, though inwardly felt a little bad for the lie. However they were still a week and a half away from finding out if they were having sons, daughters or one of each.

"Have you and Mark thought of names yet?" Marissa asked, while they were sitting among Mark's mother, Betty and his four sisters-in-law, Mary, Dana, Cynthia and Karen as well as a couple of Stephanie's friends from Greenwich, Cassandra and Denise. All seven women smiling at Stephanie, as they were all quite curious about the possible names for the new arrival.

"No, we haven't. I really haven't wanted to jinx us considering I'm still technically in my first trimester." She admitted with a slight shrug.

"Oh sweety. You're this close, you should be fine to start thinking ahead." Betty tried to assure her. The smile she gave Stephanie held nothing but warmth and positivity.

"I don't know, I've had some fairly miserable days recently. Beyond the constant nausea there's been the growing pains. This past Saturday, I didn't even want to get out of bed, I was in so much pain." Stephanie sighed, instinctively Marissa rubbed her shoulder.

"I get what you mean, no one ever tells you about the horrible parts of pregnancy. I was pretty miserable when I was carrying my oldest son, Mitch." Mary offered, hoping to alleviate some of Stephanie's concerns as to possible miscarriages. "I swear he really kicked my can, especially during the first five months, I was pregnant with him. But it did eventually get manageable."

The others laughed as they began to share some of their own pregnancy stories in an attempt to set Stephanie more at ease, since they knew how it felt to be a first time mother. Meanwhile Mark was outside on the porch drinking beers with his father, Frank and his four older brothers, David, Michael, Paul and Timothy as well as Shane and Shane's friend, Pete. Whom apparently really was a childhood friend of Shane, Stephanie and Marissa's. Off in the distance the kids could be heard running around the property playing and generally having a good time.

Mark would every so often turn his attention toward the kids, watching his son, play with his cousins. While his son's mother had been invited to the gathering, she had chosen to drop off their son and leave instead. Admittedly he felt disappointed that she left as he was hoping that she might get to know Stephanie a little better. He at least wanted Jodi to know that Gunner would be in good hands around Stephanie.

"You okay, Mark?" Frank asked, noting the far away look that would cross his youngest son's face every so often.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, snapping back to reality.

"How bad were you concussed in your match on Sunday?" His oldest brother, David asked with a frown. They hadn't seen the aftermath once the pay per view went off air. So thankfully they hadn't a clue about his blackout.

However Mark frowned instantly, glaring at his brother for even asking him that. He knew that type of question would inevitably lead to questions about when he was going to retire from wrestling. And he _hated_ being asked the retirement question. Though before any of his brothers could start in on that train of thought, Pete spoke up instead.

"Speaking of Sunday, are you going to get a rematch, since it was a double disqualification?" He asked curiously.

Mark glanced over to Pete, feeling quite thankful that he piped up when he did. "I don't know. I'd have to ask Stephanie, since it would be her call."

"The fans were pretty angry over that match ending, so I'm willing to bet you'll get the rematch. They want a decisive winner between you and Brock." Shane said, taking a sip of his beer.

"A rematch means a stipulation match though, right?" Pete asked, quite intrigued with the notion.

"Yeah, usually." Shane agreed with a nod. "You should probably start thinking about it, Mark. Ultimately the stip will likely be your call." He added, before taking another drink of his beer.

"Giving him the right to pick the stipulation is like giving him a license to kill." Paul remarked with a soft scoff. "He'll murder that Brock kid for sure." He added with a chuckle.

"Just as long as he doesn't get himself killed in the process." Frank spoke up, causing Mark to glance over to him. While Frank maintained an amused expression, he could tell that his father was concerned for him. Thankfully his father wasn't one to ask him the dreaded retirement question, and Mark appreciated that.

"From a business standpoint, it's better for me if neither one dies." Stephanie's voice cut in, causing all the guys to whip their heads around in her direction, surprised by her sudden appearance.

"How long have you been out here?" Mark asked, recovering from his surprise first.

"Long enough. You're getting your rematch, that was never a question. But the stipulation, my dad has ideas of his own." She said with a bit of a grimace.

Shane instantly perked up, he knew his sister's body language well enough to know that she wasn't agreeing with what their father was thinking. "What's dad thinking?" Shane asked cautiously.

"No Mercy is in October. So what do you think, Shane?" She retorted, lifting an eyebrow.

Shane sat up straighter. "No way, Hell in a Cell?" He questioned, not sure if he liked that idea either, given how both guys received concussions from a regular match up.

Stephanie simply nodded, but she didn't have to say anything for everyone to know, she wasn't exactly pleased with that stipulation.

"Is that why you haven't said anything?" Mark questioned, knowing they would be having words later. While he was aware that she didn't always share all work related things with him, this particular omission affected him directly.

"Sorry babe, but I am still resisting on officially booking that match." Stephanie admitted. "My dad's going to keep pressing until I announce it, but frankly you and Brock are Smackdown's biggest draws. I rather not risk either of you in that type of match." She added, with a frown.

"Can't say I blame you, sis." Shane agreed. "Hell in a Cell seems too soon. That should be a last resort."

"But what type of match could you book that wouldn't give them the opportunity to cheat? Just about all other matches would give them the numbers advantage." Mark pointed out.

Stephanie frowned as the thought had occurred to her, but she still couldn't help but think ahead. If Mark and Brock destroyed each other in Hell in a Cell at No Mercy, than what would she follow with for Survivor Series, the fourth largest pay per view of the year for the company.

"Couldn't you do something like a lumberjack match instead? Then you both would have to play the numbers game." Pete suggested, noting the disgruntled look on Stephanie's face.

Mark glanced over to Pete with a raised eyebrow, while Stephanie had a look of thoughtful consideration on her face. "You may be onto something there." She replied, knowing full well that she could assign the lumberjacks in that case. Though it could be a hard sell to her father.

"Vince will never go for it." Mark replied flatly, knowing his soon to be father-in-law quite well from the years of being his employee.

"He will if I push for the Hell in a Cell match to happen at Survivor Series instead." She retorted.

Shane nodded his approval, as his sister really did have a good head on her shoulders in the matter of booking. Though Mark's brothers looked slightly taken aback by the notion. Mainly because they were thinking her reluctance had more to do with her personally not wanting to see her fiancé get injured further.

"So ultimately you are okay with him and Brock Lesnar stepping into a Cell together?" David asked, definitely a judgmental tone to his voice.

Mark instantly glared at his older brother, not appreciating the tone at all, but before he could say anything, Stephanie stuck up for herself.

"David, business is business, my personal feelings on the subject don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Do I want Mark and Brock to fight in a Hell in the Cell match? No, I really don't, but it is the logical course of their feud and it is what is going to draw buyrates and drive ticket sales. I would rather it be for the Survivor Series which is the fourth largest pay per view of the year rather than a throwaway pay per view like No Mercy." She said firmly, lecturing the older man on the matter of the wrestling business and necessary evil of keeping business separate from personal feelings.

Obviously she was a woman that was quite passionate about both her job and her family. The others picked up on that straight away as she opted to excuse herself and go out to the yard to check on the kids. Michael who had been sitting closest to David was the first to reach out and shoved him hard.

"What the fuck, Dave!? You better go and apologize to her. That was fucking rude!" Michael insisted, being the second oldest of the set of brothers, frequently he was the one who was most protective over their three younger brothers.

"Watch the language, Mike. Don't need the kids hearing your potty mouth." Frank spoke up, before turning his gaze to his oldest son. "Though he's right, that was rude. You should definitely apologize to her." Frank agreed.

"You should probably let her cool off first. She walked away, which means she's mad. She probably didn't want to say something she'd regret." Shane intervened, knowing his sister the way he did. He really didn't want to see the older man get his head bitten off. Though not because he didn't deserve it for questioning Stephanie's love for Mark, but because he knew it would make family gatherings extremely awkward if she did.

Mark remained silent before getting up and going after Stephanie himself, though the frosty gaze he gave his brother, David spoke volumes to what he was feeling on the subject.

"You should probably apologize to your brother too." Pete said, the moment Mark disappeared. "It's not exactly cool to imply that a man's fiancée cares more about business matters over personal matters."

"That was pretty messed up, man." Timothy spoke up for the first time.

"I'll apologize to them before I leave." David sighed, though inwardly he still felt justified for asking what was on all their minds.

Meanwhile by the time Mark found Stephanie, she was leaning against one of the shade trees, watching the younger kids play a game of tag. He could see from her body language that she was still upset, but she put on a smiling face for the kids.

"I'm sorry about my brother, he really knows jack shit about wrestling." He sighed, placing a hand on her waist. She glanced up at him, her expression softening as she let herself be pulled into an embrace.

"Do the rest of your brothers agree with him?" She asked, her voice still tight.

"I don't know, and frankly I don't care. I know the truth." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her. She reciprocated, kissing him back, though the moment was broken as a couple of his nieces started giggling. They pulled apart to see his nephews pulling faces, while his son just shook his head at his cousins in exasperation.

"Hey knock it off, like your parents never kiss each other." He huffed out.

"So, what is she your new mom now?" One of the boys asked in a teasing fashion, pulling Gunner into a headlock.

"Ugh! She will be, stupid!" He snapped, roughly pushing the other boy away.

However before Gunner could take a swing at his big mouth cousin, Mark caught him by the collar and pulled him back.

"That's enough." He said firmly. "Why don't the rest of you kids head back inside the house?" He ordered, causing them to frown as they wanted to stay outside since the older kids had taken up the television in the living room and were playing video games. Which meant the younger kids had to entertain themselves. However none of the kids were brave enough to challenge their Uncle Mark, the big bad Undertaker was not to be tested, when he laid down the law.

The kids walked back to the house, various levels of complaints could be heard as Gunner was left alone with his dad and future stepmom.

"I got some time off this weekend, do you want to go fishing, bud? Just you and me." Mark asked Gunner, since he was off his house show schedule, he might as well use the time to spend it with his son.

Gunner looked at his feet. "...But doesn't Stephanie and my baby brother or sister need you?" He asked cautiously.

"It's okay Gunner, I've been feeling better. You two should go have some fun." She offered, giving him a smile. She knew Mark and Gunner needed the quality time together, so of course she would encourage it in anyway that she could.

Slowly he smiled back, a sense of excitement lit up his features. "Okay!"

Mark chuckled as he gave his son a hug. While he had hated the idea of being shelved for the one injury he suffered at Unforgiven, he was glad that he got to spend time with his son. That was definitely a plus.

xXx

Despite the one snag with Mark's older brother, her birthday gathering in Texas had gone well. More and more, she was convinced that she could move to Texas for a while and everything would be alright. Though she didn't have time to keep thinking about her personal business as she had Smackdown business to deal with. One of them being a phone conference with her father on the subject of Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar in a Hell in a Cell match. She was still in the hotel in the city that Smackdown would be taking place that night. She'd be heading out to the arena after their talk.

"Hell in a Cell makes the most sense for No Mercy, Steph."

"I disagree, if we have the blow off on No Mercy, than what for Survivor Series? That's Taker's anniversary pay per view. Plus he and Brock are my biggest draws on Smackdown right now."

"But how would you drag it out until Survivor Series? The guys are at each other's throats." Vince asked, a definite thoughtful tone to his voice as she was making sense about Survivor Series.

"So back in 1998, how did you stall Taker and Austin's title match until Summerslam?" She asked, feeling that this idea would win over her father.

"I made them a tag team at the interim pay per view…" he trailed off picking up on her idea. "Yes that could work and it would instantly legitimize the Smackdown tag team titles! Does Taker know you want to go this route?"

"No, I just decided when I saw the picture of the new tag team belts in my email yesterday, then it hit me!" She replied, definitely feeling good about this change of events.

"Are you going to tell him?" Vince asked, sounding slightly amused.

"Yeah, he'll find out at the meeting tonight with the rest of the guys, when I announce the tournament will be starting next week." She replied, knowing she and Mark were likely going to have words over this decision of hers. However she knew if she made the announcement in public, he wouldn't be able to talk her out of it.

"Princess, I think you're lucky to be carrying Mark's child because he is likely going to be very angry with you." Vince replied with a humorless laugh. While he wasn't sure if she should be tempting fate, he did like her idea to prolong the feud out to Survivor Series. That would definitely give Smackdown some much needed ground. While Raw had always been considered the flagship show of the brand split, Smackdown had the potential to reach a wider audience, given it was on network television rather than cable television. He had to admit that his daughter had done a very good job of making the blue brand a must see show in its own right.

"I know, but he knows this is business. I have to keep the momentum going one way or another." She said simply. Certainly Paul Heyman and Brock Lesnar had made things personal, but Stephanie still had to put business first.

"Good luck, sweetheart. I look forward to seeing how the next few shows turn out."

"Thank you, daddy. I'll talk to you later."

xXx

While this wasn't the first time that they had been called together for a meeting before Smackdown was due to begin airing. It had been a couple of months since the last meeting. The last one taking place before SummerSlam had happened. Though it didn't seem like Stephanie was interested in giving the current Smackdown roster a pep talk, from the notices they had gotten, it was pertaining to the future of the blue brand.

Everyone from Superstars, Divas, production and tech crew members were present in one of the larger meeting rooms in the venue. Stephanie arrived with Marissa and Shane following behind her. Both Shane and Marissa carrying large briefcases in their hands as Stephanie held a bundle of papers. The moment she stood at the front of the room, one of the tech's handed her a microphone. She sat the papers down as Shane and Marissa put the cases on the table, keeping them closed for the meantime.

"I know you all are curious about this meeting, but I got some announcements that I don't want to have to make repeatedly. First off, I've had two new titles commissioned for Smackdown, because I feel that the WWE title and the Cruiserweight title aren't enough to keep a talented group of guys like yourself busy." She said, immediately the room was filled with clamoring voices, all curious what titles she was bringing to Smackdown. She gestured for Shane to open the first case. He smiled as he moved to unlock the briefcase, opening it to reveal the brand new WWE Tag Team Title belts.

She then nodded to Marissa to open the other case. Marissa quickly following her husband's example, unlocking the briefcase she had been carrying to reveal the brand new WWE United States Title belt. There were many audible gasps scattered throughout the room over seeing the new titles.

"My apologies to the ladies of Smackdown, but since there are only three of you actively competing, I couldn't get the greenlight to create a title for you. However that could change in the future. As for these titles, the chase for the WWE tag team titles starts next week. We're kicking things off with an eight team tournament. Two quarter-final matches will take place next week and the other two matches will happen the week after next. The semi-finals will happen on the Smackdown before No Mercy, with the finals actually taking place at No Mercy." She explained to everyone. "With that being said, I've selected the eight teams that will be apart of the tournament. Eddie and Chavo Guerrero, Rikishi and Mark Henry, D-von and Batista, Edge and Rey Mysterio, Billy and Chuck, Billy Kidman and John Cena, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle…"

"Oh come on! Are you kidding me?!" Kurt protested, standing up in a huff. "Why am I getting stick with Benoit?!" He questioned, incredulously.

"Because I said so." Stephanie snapped, peeved that Kurt had cut her off. "And before I was interrupted the final team in the tournament will be Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker."

" ** _What?!_** " Paul Heyman snapped next.

"Stop right there. The teams are final! This tournament is extremely important to this show. So I suggest you all put your differences aside and take this tournament hundred percent seriously! If anyone tries to back stab or attack their partner, they will find themselves suspended with no pay! Do I make myself clear?" She snapped, laying down the law. She was damn sure not in the mood to be second guessed or undermined by anyone. "Smackdown is already considered 'the B show' by the company. My aim is to prove them wrong. Pass out the sheets for tonight's matches please." She added, ignoring the glares from her fiancé, Paul Heyman, Brock Lesnar, Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle as Marissa handed the papers around.

The moment Paul Heyman laid eyes on the booking sheet for the night's matches, he frowned at seeing the match his client was involved in. "Since when does Rob Van Dam work on Smackdown?" He questioned out loud, clearly confused since Rob wasn't in the meeting.

"Since today, he makes his debut tonight. He jumped ship from Raw after what happened at Unforgiven." Stephanie said matter-of-factly. "So make sure to welcome him. Now to the matter of the United States title. That one isn't going to be activated officially until after the Survivor Series. It will be a sixteen man tournament, with the finals taking place at Armageddon in December. I'll announce the competitors for that title when it gets closer to that time."

Marissa and Shane closed the cases as Stephanie finished up her announcements. Both quite excited to see where things went before Stephanie went on her maternity leave and inevitably stepped down from running the blue brand.

"Are there any questions?" She asked, ready to wrap things up as she had said all she needed to the wrestlers.

"Yeah, when do we find out which teams will be facing off next week?" Eddie asked, cause he was just fine with Chavo as his partner. He was actually looking forward to the tag team tournament.

"Well the four teams competing next week will be you and Chavo, Rikishi and Mark Henry, D-von and Batista and Brock and the Undertaker. We'll let you know the day of the show which teams will be facing off with each other and where your matches will land on the card. Fair enough?"

"Sounds good to me, bosslady." Eddie said with a grin.

"Alright, if no one has any other questions, then you're all free to leave." She said dismissively.

xXx

She couldn't even act surprised that the moment she walked into her office in the arena, that Mark was right behind her. "You're really going to make me tag with Brock?" He asked, his voice oozing with irritation.

"Yes, I took inspiration from my dad when he made you and Steve Austin a tag team back in 1998." She replied simply, before dropping down into her seat. "I have two intense rivalries going on right now, with guys who are super competitive with each other and all of them hate the idea of losing. Out of the sheer stubbornness, I have seen from all of you, I can't see you guys not advancing in the tournament." Stephanie replied, her instinct telling her that the two teams that hated being partners with each other were likely going to be in the finals at the pay per view. At least she really hoped that would be how it worked out, since she really wanted to keep the two rivalries going until Survivor Series.

"And how long have you had this mind?" He asked pointedly.

Instinctively she inhaled sharply, not that she didn't expect that tone from him, but it still managed to irritate her nonetheless. "Since yesterday, when I got the notification that the tag team titles were finished." She admitted, there was no point in lying to him.

However his shoulders stiffened at that revelation from her. Clearly he was feeling some type of way about her keeping her plans for him to herself. "Then why didn't you say anything sooner?"

"Because I didn't want to give you a chance to talk me out of it. Sorry babe, but I can't always tell you my plans for Smackdown, even when you are directly involved." She said frankly, even if she knew it was just going to anger him in the short term.

"Oh that's such bullshit, Steph!" He snapped at her. Anyone else would have flinched or even cowered at his reaction, but she merely maintained a neutral expression.

"Okay, I think you better step away before we both say some things we will regret later." She told him, pointing at the door. He was angry, so she tried to be understanding, but she could feel her own temper flare and she didn't trust herself to be able to bite her tongue for much longer.

His back stiffened at her tone and the expression on her face. He knew the tell tale signs of her anger on the verge of exploding, part of him didn't care, but the other part thought of the babies she was carrying. Finally he let out a huff before turning around and storming out of her office, blowing right past Shane and Marissa nearly running them over as he left.

Cautiously Shane and Marissa walked into the office to find Stephanie leaning back in her chair looking absolutely pissed off. "You okay, sis?" Marissa asked carefully.

"I will be." She sighed. "Now to have this conversation about three more times." She said, just waiting for the other guys to come complain despite her earlier warnings.

"They'll get over it, Steph. It isn't the first time rivals have been forced to co-exist. Dad's made plenty of those types of team ups in the past." Shane said, knowing where her inspiration came from and completely agreeing with it. Despite their differences, those guys were going to make amazing teams in his opinion.

Marissa lightly shook her head in amusement at just how much Shane and Stephanie were becoming like their father when it came to business. However, she hoped that Stephanie and Mark would make up before the night was over. She hated to see them be at odds with each other, especially over business.

Meanwhile in the locker room, Taker was pacing back and forth after partly trashing the place. While he knew her decision wasn't a slight against him, he still couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. After the crap that Heyman and Lesnar pulled, she really wanted to team them up? Even under the threat of suspension he couldn't fathom being able to keep from beating the crap out of the rookie.

"You okay, man?" Came Rob Van Dam's voice from the door as he walked into the locker room that he was also sharing with the Undertaker, along with a few other guys.

Taker stopped pacing to turn a glare on Rob, who took a step back and held his hands up in defensive pose. "Whoa man, no need to give me the 'if looks could kill' glare." He said in a calm and collected tone.

Taker merely blinked and looked away, going back to pacing the floor. "Don't mind him, he's just mad at his lady." Eddie said, walking in after Rob, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"I take it the meeting didn't go so well then?" Rob asked Eddie, choosing to leave Taker to his dark cloud of anger for the moment.

"It did, but Taker, Brock, Chris and Kurt aren't happy with the decisions the bosslady made. She put all four of them into the tag team title tournament that starts next week."

"Oh, okay. The old forcing rivals into a team business?" Rob asked, Eddie merely nodded. "Ah gotcha! Sorry man, but at least you get a chance to beat up on Brock tonight in our tag team match against him and Matt Hardy." Rob told Taker as he moved to take a seat on one of the benches.

Taker simply huffed before dropping himself down on one of the other benches. Though before Eddie or Rob could say anything Chris Benoit walked into the locker room with his own grumpy expression.

"Hey Chris, I thought you were sharing space with the champ." Eddie said, surprised to see his friend.

"I was, but I got sent over here since the kid and I almost came to blows." He said with a roll of his eyes. "Fucking rookie." He muttered, dropping down on the bench beside Eddie.

"Man, Brock does not endear himself with people." Rob commented, that caused both Taker and Benoit to scoff at the same time.

"That's a fucking understatement." Benoit gritted out, before glancing over to Taker. "That was a hell of a beating you put him on Sunday." Eddie nodded his agreement as he glanced over to Taker as well.

"He damn sure had it coming. He still has it coming." Taker replied, still trying to rein in his temper.

"Well if we end up facing each other in the tournament, I'll be sure to put a hurting on the kid myself." Benoit stated, he really hoped that he and Kurt would face Taker and Brock, because he wanted to make the rookie tap out.

"Knowing Steph, she's probably arranged things so there is no possibility for us to meet unless it is in the finals." Taker replied, remembering her words about the two biggest rivalries on Smackdown.

"That's smart. Brock and Taker vs Angle and Benoit? That sounds like money right there." Eddie had to admit, even if he hoped to derail either team if he and Chavo faced them.

"Well at least you guys know that Stephanie isn't actively trying to screw you over. She's just looking to prolong the heat between all you guys." Rob chimed in with a shrug. He could already tell that he was going to enjoy being on Smackdown, more than Raw at this rate.

xXx

Later that night, after an evening of exciting matches, the crowd were practically humming with anticipation of seeing the main event tag team match, featuring not only Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker facing off again, but the debut of Rob Van Dam on the blue brand. As soon as Rob's music hit the crowd roared back to life, cheering him on and chanting his name. Though they seemed to be even more excited that the Undertaker would be his partner. At the announcement of Matt Hardy as part of the opposing team, the crowd began booing, however Brock Lesnar and Heyman received a mix of boos and cheers as they made their way down to the ring last. The crowd seemingly to be warming up to Brock despite his bad guy status.

Matt and Rob started the match off, quite aware of the fact that both Brock and Taker were wrestling with head injuries. Thus they had both been advised to draw things out between them to give Brock and Taker a little break. However that worked to the two smaller men's advantage as they took it to each other. Both willing to go for those high spots that got the crowd excited and up on their feet. Rob flung Matt into the turnbuckle and went to follow him in with a springboard elbow to the face. Though when he went for the split leg moonsault off the top turnbuckle corner, Matt moved out of the way. The two went back and forth, Matt eventually going for the twist of fate, but getting pushed off into his corner. Brock blind tagging himself in to the roaring approval of the crowd.

The two men sizing each other up to the excitement of the crowd. It had been a while since the two had been in the ring together and people were happy to see them go at it again. Almost immediately Brock tried to take off Rob's head with a clothesline, but Rob quickly dodged and began to work on Brock's knee instead. The two men went back and forth as Rob relied on his speed and agility, while Brock focused on using his strength and size to his advantage. The crowd really getting into the exchange between the two men with clashing styles.

However one miscalculation on Rob's part and he found himself on Brock's shoulders ready to be given a F-5 to the mat. Though he was saved when Taker jumped into the ring and kicked Brock into the midsection. The crowd cheered in excitement as Rob jumped down from Brock's shoulders. Taker then threw Brock into the ropes and hit him with a big boot to the face, before getting out of the ring. The move giving Rob time to set up for his rolling thunder move onto the fallen Brock for a near pinfall, but Brock kicked out with authority. Finally Rob tagged in the Undertaker to the roar of the crowd as they seemed to really want to see the two men face off again.

Once again the two men started pummeling each other, Taker went to throw Brock into the turnbuckle but Brock reversed it, following Taker in with a clothesline that nearly decapitated the deadman. He quickly moved to drive his shoulder into Taker's midsection in the corner, twice. Though Taker fought out of the corner with several high knees to Brock's gut, before grabbing him by the shoulders and reversing their positions so Brock was backed into the turnbuckle instead. Swiftly he delivered two elbow blows to Brock, before whipping him into the opposite turnbuckle so hard that the champ nearly crumpled to the mat. All the while Heyman was screaming his lungs out at Taker and the referee. Taker charged Brock in the corner ready to give him a body splash, but Brock countered with a boot to the face on him.

He was getting ready to pick Taker up for a F-5 but Rob came off the top turnbuckle with a missile drop kick to Brock's chest, knocking him down. Matt quickly jumped into the ring and the match suddenly turned into a melee as all four men started beating on each other. Chaos ensued as Taker clothesline Brock over the top rope and the two men started brawling outside of the ring. Meanwhile Matt went for another twist of fate on Rob, but he countered and hit a spinning heel kick on Matt before climbing to the top turnbuckle again and hitting the five star frog splash on Matt for the 1...2...3!

The crowd erupted into cheers as Rob's music hit and the announcer declared Rob Van Dam and the Undertaker as the winners of the match. Meanwhile Taker and Brock were still brawling outside of the ring, oblivious to the match's end. Brock went to whip Taker into the barrier but Taker reversed it sending the Next Big Thing crashing into the barricade before clotheslining him over into the crowd. Suddenly a group of officials and security came running in to keep Taker from climbing over the barrier to get at Brock.

However Taker struggled with the officials and security pushing them away and generally taking swings at them. While he was distracted Brock climbed back over the barrier, snatching his title belt out of Paul Heyman's hand. Swiftly he sprinted forward into the fray, hitting Taker in the face with his title belt hard enough to reopen the cut on his forehead. Though the officials and security managed to block Brock from continuing his assault on the Undertaker. The fans were a mix of boos and cheers as they watched Brock get herded up the ramp by security, while the other officials tried to help the Undertaker to his feet. The show went off the air as the Undertaker swatted the officials away, refusing their help as blood poured down his face.

xXx

Backstage Stephanie was watching everything unfold on the monitors in Gorilla Position. Instinctively she sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "These guys are determined to give me gray hair." Stephanie remarked, just as Brock and Heyman came through the entrance way. "I hope you got that out of your system, Brock. Because if you pull that stunt next week, I will fine you, strip your ass of that title and send your sorry behind packing back home." She threatened, definitely at her wit's end with the entire situation.

"It's not Brock's fault that Taker's getting too old to keep up!" Paul retorted.

"Don't say I didn't warn you guys. If you test me next week, you both are going to be very unhappily sitting your butts at home for the remainder of the year." She said firmly, her expression never wavering.

Brock scowled as Paul ushered him out of Gorilla position, just in time for Taker to make his way into the entrance way with two of the officials helping to keep him steady.

"Babe, are you okay?" Stephanie asked, climbing to her feet. One of the trainers came from the backstage entrance before he could answer her question.

Taker staggered forward as Stephanie and the trainer moved in to help him keep his balance. Quickly the four of them guided him to an empty seat, so the trainer could give him a quick look over and see if he needed to make another trip to the hospital.

"Mark, do you know where you are at?" The trainer asked, while checking Mark's pupils.

"Yeah, gorilla position at Smackdown." He replied, definitely more aware than he had been at Unforgiven. He glanced up at Stephanie, who was looking down at him with concern in her eyes. "I'll be okay, Steph." He told her with a nod.

"Considering you already had a concussion, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get you reexamined. At the least we should get you another CT scan to make sure your condition hasn't worsen." The trainer told Mark as he applied pressure to the wound on Mark's forehead. "I can stitch you up here, before we take you to the hospital."

Mark sighed, feeling frustrated with the trainer's suggestion. He couldn't help but feel annoyed that the kid, got over on him yet again. But now, his hands were tied to retaliate against him, since next week they would be tethered together as tag team partners. "Whatever man, let's just get this over with." He scowled, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. He wouldn't even look up when Stephanie placed a hand on his shoulder.

She merely sighed, dropping a kiss on top of his head. "I'm sorry babe. Just hang in there and I promise eventually you'll get your shot at revenge." She whispered to him.

He inhaled sharply, before placing his hand on top of hers. "I'm gonna hold you to that, sweetheart." He whispered back, slowly grabbing her hand off of his shoulder and dropping a kiss on her knuckles. While he was still annoyed with the entire situation, he knew it was futile to stay angry with his fiancée. He loved her too damn much for that.


	6. Blast from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie and Mark receive some good news about their babies, but later an old face reemerges to cause drama in their professional lives.

Stephanie found herself sitting in a meeting at Titan Sports Inc with her parents, Eric Bischoff and the members of the board. The discussions about ratings for the weekly shows and the pay per view buyrates were hot topics, which inevitably went to discussions of Stephanie’s role as General Manager of Smackdown.

“We only have two questions for you Ms. McMahon, when do you plan on going on your maternity leave and how soon can we expect you back afterwards?” One of the board members asked, with several others nodding their agreement.

Though Stephanie looked surprised at the second question as did Eric Bischoff. “So you want me to come back to Smackdown after I have my child?” She asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Definitely, since you took over the management of Smackdown, ratings have been on a steady incline. Viewership more than doubled since the announcement of your pregnancy on air. Not only are people tuning in to see what will happen with you, they are staying tuned in to watch the rest of the show. Plus the rivalry between you and Mr Bischoff has also become a point of interest to viewers. The shareholders feel strongly that you should stay in the role as General Manager even after you have your baby.” 

Stephanie immediately glanced between her parents whom were sitting on opposite ends of the table. Though both were maintaining neutral expressions, right away she knew it wasn't their decision but the Board acting on the shareholders behalf.

"I'll likely have to go on my leave after the Royal Rumble. However I would like to nominate my brother, Shane to step into the role once I go on hiatus. As far as my return, I can't really say until after I have given birth to my child." She replied, again keeping her cards close to her chest.

"But you _are_ coming back?" Another member persisted.

"Yes, of course. However I'm a first time mother here. So I can't give a solid date for a return." She replied, trying to keep her expression neutral as well. She didn't want to give anything away, especially not in front of Bischoff. "I don't want to make a promise that I can't keep." She added, hoping they would accept her answer for the time being.

After the board meeting adjourned Linda called Stephanie into her office. She was mildly surprised to see her father present as well.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, curious as to why they were ambushing her like this.

"We were about to ask you the same. You didn't exactly seem happy that they want you to stay on as GM of Smackdown. We thought you would be a lot more excited since you told us that you didn't want to give up the show." Linda replied, letting her concern reach her eyes now that they were alone.

Stephanie sighed as she took a seat. "That's because I was ready to step down, but they put me on the spot. The last thing I want to do is ruin Smackdown's momentum." She admitted to both her parents' surprise.

"What changed? Is there something wrong with the baby?" Linda asked, her voice laced with worry.

"No, the baby is fine. I'm fine. It's just I don't know if I can really juggle raising a baby and putting in the work for my career. Both are important to me, but my child is more so important. I don't want to disappoint our shareholders obviously. Not when they have such confidence in me, but they are placing me in a predicament."

Vince took a seat beside his daughter. He knew her well enough to know there was something more to the story. Something that she wasn’t telling them. “What’s going on, Steph?” He asked, placing a hand on her forearm.

“I’m making plans to move to Texas. So I was hoping to take some time off from the company, pass my maternity leave.” Stephanie replied, still keeping the news of the twins to herself. They would learn that news when she and Mark made the announcement come Christmas.

Vince sighed, giving her arm a squeeze. He wasn’t exactly happy to hear that she was planning on moving, but both he and Linda knew it was a very real possibility that she would choose to go to Texas for Mark. Especially after she chose to spend her birthday in Texas with his family. “If you need the time, then you can take the time, sweetheart. While the shareholders and board members are eager for you to keep up the breakneck pace you’ve been working, your mom and I aren’t going to rush you back to work once you go on your maternity leave.”

Linda nodded her agreement. She knew first hand, how hard it was to raise children while continuing to work. Though in Stephanie’s case, working wasn’t an immediate necessity. She knew her daughter could afford to take the time off. “He’s right, sweety. While the board isn’t wrong with you becoming a Smackdown draw for the show itself, there isn’t any reason why Shane and Marissa for that matter can’t fill that role in your absence.” Linda added, certainly confident that Shane and Marissa could get over with the fans just as well. They had only appeared in supporting roles as of late and the fan response to them had been positive.

“Thank you for understanding.” Stephanie replied, placing her hand over her dad’s hand as it still rested on her arm.

“You’re carrying our grandchild, of course we are going to understand and support you.” Vince replied, giving her forearm another squeeze. “So when are you planning on making the move to Texas?” He asked.

“Well if I can find a doctor down there, then I plan to go before the baby is born. With the health issues that Mark’s dad has been having, it seems like it would be easier on both Mark and his family if I had the baby in Texas.” She said cautiously, hoping her parents would understand. “Especially since it is just easier for our family to travel in general.” She added, making certain they realized that she expected them to visit her.

“I suppose you are right, the private planes do come in handy. It’s hard to believe that I ever use to fly commercial.” Vince joked as both Stephanie and Linda chuckled. 

xXx

He hadn’t seen Stephanie since they parted ways the morning after Smackdown as he went home to Texas to spend time with his son and she went back to Connecticut for work. Though they had spoken over the phone a few times, since he would be going back up to Connecticut for her doctor’s appointment. From there they would end up heading to the next venue for Smackdown. While they had made up from their argument the week prior, he was still feeling annoyed over being put into a tag team with Brock. It was hard not to feel bitter, though he chose to focus on the positive for now.

Thus he sat his work related feelings aside once they arrived at the doctor’s office for Stephanie’s appointment. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t looking forward to finding out if they were having sons, daughters or both. Truly he wanted to do a better job with the twins than he had during Gunner's earlier years. 

He'd been lost in his thoughts as Stephanie spoke to her doctor about moving to Texas before the babies were born.

"I'll be sad to lose you as a patient but I'm sure I can help you find a suitable replacement in Houston." Dr Miller replied as she examined Stephanie, checking the heartbeats of the babies first. "There's one." She announced as a strong whooshing sound came over the speaker. She moved the rod and another distinct whooshing sound popped up. "And there's number two. Have you two thought of any names for your little ones?" She questioned.

Stephanie gave Mark's hand a squeeze as they listened to their children's heartbeats. Instinctively he squeezed her hand back. Every visit to the doctor's making the babies even more real to their parents.

"No, we haven't." He replied, glancing over to Stephanie.

"He's right. But I'm kinda partial to the names Peyton and Riley. Since they can be used for boys or girls." She said with a smile.

Mark chuckled, of course she would think of names out of the blue. Admittedly he did like the names she suggested, though Peyton Riley sounded like a good first and middle name to him.

"Alright, let's see if they will let us check if they are boys or girls." Dr Miller said, moving the rod around on Stephanie's abdomen trying to see the first baby. She let out a chuckle as she pointed toward the screen. "This one is an exhibitionist already. So you are definitely having a boy." She announced, moving the rod around to get a better look at baby number two. "This one is more modest, but if you look here you can see, this one is a girl. Congratulations, your having a boy and a girl."

Stephanie covered her mouth with her free hand, feeling on the verge of tears. Mark easily stood to press a kiss to her tempo. Instantly she grasped his arm tightly pulling him in for a hug. "I can't believe it." She murmured, still astounded that they would be getting a son and a daughter. At this rate her family was complete, as she hadn't wanted more than two children in the first place.

The doctor simply smiled as she watched the happy couple react to the news of their babies' sexes. This was definitely one of the best parts of her job. However, she was still a bit disappointed that she wouldn't get to deliver the twins when the time came. Though she promised herself that she would help her patient find a good replacement.

xXx 

Stephanie was still beaming as they headed back to the house. Mark couldn't help but find her giddiness contagious as he linked fingers with her, while he kept his other hand on the wheel.

"So I was thinking about those names you said you are partial too. What if we used both for one of them?" Mark asked. "A little girl named Peyton Riley sounds perfect to me."

"D'aww babe, I love it. What about our son though?" She asked, squeezing his hand.

"Maybe Connor? Doesn't sound that far from Gunner." He suggested, while considering what other name they could pair with the first name.

“Connor Calaway does have a ring to it.” She said amused, instinctively she smoothed a hand over the small swell of her belly. “What do you two think, hmm? Are you Connor and Peyton?” She let out a laugh as she glanced over to Mark. “Considering they haven’t been making me miserable today, I’d say they are happy with those names.”

Mark chuckled, taking the moment to lean over and kiss her as they were stopped at a red light. “Peyton Riley and Connor Everett?” He asked, finally thinking of a middle name they could give their son. Honestly feeling quite pleased with how both names sounded on his tongue.

Stephanie instantly nodded, loving the sound of both names. It made her even more excited to meet her little ones, now that they had identities assigned to them. “Yes, both names sound perfect, really!” She practically gushed. While the idea of raising two babies simultaneously was a bit daunting, but at the same time, she couldn’t help but see it as a new adventure.

xXx

After all the excitement with the news of their babies and giving them their names, Stephanie had momentarily forgotten about the board meeting and their expectations of her. It was as she was packing for her latest trip of the week, that she remembered the other news she wanted to discuss with Mark.

For his part, he noted the change in her demeanor as her mood seemed to sober. Immediately he thought she was feeling sick again, thus he lightly placed a hand on her back. “Are you okay, darlin?” He asked, a definite hint of concern in his tone.

She sighed as she turned around to face him. She couldn’t even be surprised at how quickly he picked up on her mood shift. Slowly she wrapped her arms around his waist as she looked up at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just remembered some stuff I needed to tell you.” She said, looking on the conflicted side. As there was a part of her that was genuinely flattered that they wanted her to return back to work so quickly, but she was also looking forward to spending time with Mark and their children.

“What’s going on, Steph?” He asked, wrapping his own arms around her.

“I spoke with the board members yesterday and they strongly pressed for a return date after I go on my maternity leave.” She told him, feeling his body tense in her arms. Instinctively she tightened her grip around him. “Baby I didn’t give them an exact date.” She added quickly, wanting him to know that she wasn’t going back on their plans.

“But are you wanting to go back to Smackdown after all?” He asked, not exactly against her going back. But he knew they would have to change their game plan again, if she did want to go back sooner.

“Maybe, it’s flattering to be considered a ratings draw on a show that I helped put together on a weekly basis. But my parents are good with me taking as much as time as I need, despite the board being eager for me to come back.” She said, moving her hand up to capture his face. “I told my parents about me moving to Texas and having the baby there. So that part hasn’t changed. I just need to decide if I want to go back on air after my hiatus is over.” She explained, knowing that the decision would solely be based on how she felt after her babies were born. She honestly couldn’t say how she was going to feel about going back to work, once Connor and Peyton arrived. There was a really good chance that she would want to extend her break to be with her children. 

He could see she was torn over the situation. Despite her not being a wrestler, she kept a schedule similar to one. It was one of the reasons they worked, because she understood the lifestyle. However there was a part of him that worried that she might ultimately choose her job as her father did. Vince ate, slept and breathed the business and if he was being honest with himself, he had done the same as Vince during the early part of his career.

"Just don't make the same mistakes I did." Mark said earnestly.

"Babe?" She questioned, a look of bewilderment on her face.

"You're still young. I was 28 when Gunner was born. I spent way more time on the road than I did with him and Jodi. I missed a lot of Gunner's milestones and I regret it. I just don't want you to have those kinds of regrets later in your life." He replied, discussing an aspect of his past that he hadn’t really broached with Stephanie as much as he should have.

"Come on, babe. Both my parents are workaholics. I don't want our babies to be missing us constantly. Besides when it comes down to it, this is a family act.” She said firmly, reassuring him that she wouldn’t leave their children behind. “We stick together right?” She questioned, before pressing a kiss to his lips.

He nodded, bringing his hands up to grasp her face. “Hell yeah, we do.” He finally replied, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone, before leaning in to kiss her more thoroughly. After a few moments, they broke apart and looked into each other’s eyes. Neither said a word as their lips collided again in a far more hungry and passionate kiss. Before either could process their actions they were haphazardly undressing each other. Despite the fact that they needed to be getting ready for their trip, they were far more intent on just enjoying the moment. Whatever happened, they would face it together.

xXx

It was the day of the next Smackdown broadcast, Stephanie and Mark had arrived later, since they had missed their flight the day before. Thus Shane and Marissa had been holding down the fort, making sure all the preparations were set, until Stephanie got there to take over. However not all was going as smoothly as they would have liked and they were not looking forward to telling Stephanie or Mark the developments that had sprung up this week.

The moment Stephanie laid eyes on Shane’s face, she knew something was up. “Okay what’s going on now?” She asked, bracing herself. Inevitably her good mood was not meant to last as Shane glanced over to Marissa. Neither one seeming to know how to phrase things.

“Sweety, Brock and Paul brought in a valet to start accompanying him to the ring.” Marissa said with a grimace.

Instinctively Mark placed a hand on the small of Stephanie’s back as he wasn’t sure he liked the sound of things either. Though his shoulders immediately stiffened when Marissa turned her gaze toward him.

“It’s Sara.” She said giving both Mark and Stephanie sympathetic looks. Since she could only imagine how awkward things were about to get.

“What?” Mark asked dumbfounded, he couldn’t have heard her say, what he thought she said.

“Sorry man, you heard right. Brock’s valet is Sara, as in your ex-wife Sara.” Shane stated bluntly. Though he couldn’t keep his own grimace at bay. What a mess!

“Oh for fuck’s sake…” Stephanie muttered as she headed over to the desk and took a seat. She had to admit Paul Heyman and Eric Bischoff seemed to both know exactly what to do, to rain on her parade. While she knew the mind games would continue even though the two men were forced to be a tag team, she honestly hadn’t considered that they would go this particular route.

Mark rubbed at his face, his annoyance for being partnered with Brock for the tag team title tournament surfacing full force. “Great, you just _had_ to make him my tag team partner.” Mark growled at Stephanie.

“Don’t start with me. I’m not a damn mind reader. Did you expect me to predict that they would sucker your ex in?” Stephanie shot back.

“You two have better get it together. Because you know the main goal with this is to drive a wedge between you two.” Shane intervened before Mark could say something he would regret later.

“Shane’s right. They would rather you two be at each other’s throats than have you be on the same page.” Marissa added, glancing between Stephanie and Mark.

Mark inhaled sharply, trying to rein his temper in. He wasn’t necessarily angry with Stephanie, because Heyman and Brock were ultimately responsible for their own actions. But his fiancée had effectively tied his hands by making them partners and threatening suspension if they didn’t work as a tag team. So he couldn’t help but be annoyed with her for putting him into such a tough spot. However it was the sight of her unconsciously resting her hand on small baby bump that reminded him that there was something far more important between them than their careers.

“How badly did things end between you and Sara?” Shane asked, while he knew that Taker and Sara had filed for divorce before Hunter had unceremoniously dumped Stephanie on live television. He had never asked the other man, how the relationship had broken down in the first place.

Stephanie grimaced as she saw Mark’s shoulders stiffened at Shane’s inquiry. While he had told her, what happened, she never bothered to share those details with her family. Mainly because she knew Mark valued his privacy and she didn’t see the point of bringing up the past.

“I’m sure it could have been a better split than it was. But at this point, it really doesn’t matter.” Stephanie answered, causing Mark to glance over to her. Neither had to say a word to know what the other was thinking in that moment. It would only be a matter of time before Heyman used Sara to completely trash Mark to the audience. Slowly Stephanie climbed to her feet. “Is Sara with Brock right now?” She asked, ready to face this new problem head on.

“Probably…”Shane replied, but trailed off at seeing the look on his sister’s face. “Steph...maybe…”

“No, this is my show. I’ll handle this.” She said firmly, cutting Shane off from protesting what she was about to do. She simply gestured toward Marissa before heading toward the door. Though Mark was quick to capture her arm and try to stop her physically from confronting Heyman and Sara.

“Steph, you really shouldn’t…” He started, but Stephanie held her hand up to stop him.

“Mark, if she is going to be on my show, then there are a few things she needs to understand.” She spoke in a deadly calm voice.

Reluctantly he released his grip on her, knowing that look in her eyes well enough to know, she shouldn’t be tested at that moment. Once he released his grip on her, she walked out the door with Marissa right behind her. However Marissa was quick to give Mark a reassuring pat on the arm.

“I’ll make sure she doesn’t go off the deep end.” Marissa whispered as she closed the door behind her.

“Heyman is going to wish he didn’t test Stephanie like this. We all know, she’s got our dad’s mean streak.” Shane said, while shaking his head.

xXx

The moment Stephanie reached the locker room assigned to Brock, she opened the door without even knocking. She couldn’t care less if anyone was decent or not. Marissa simply followed praying that her little sister, didn’t do something that would hurt herself or her babies. Luckily everyone that was present in the locker room was decent. Though that likely had to do with Sara sitting near Brock and Paul as the trio whispered to each other.

“If your name isn’t Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman or Sara Frank, then I suggest you leave, _right now_.” Stephanie said in a tone that no one was willing to challenge.

Quickly the other guys who were present in the room, got up and left without so much as a peep out of them. Paul looked over to Stephanie and Marissa with a neutral expression, attempting to give nothing away.

“Is there something wrong, Ms McMahon?” He asked with a false sincerity.

“Last time I checked, I was running Smackdown. Which means I get final say on who is and who is not allowed in this venue and on this show. I don’t recall giving you permission to bring in a valet. Let alone, Sara here.” Stephanie replied in such a cold tone that the temperature in the room dropped.

“What’s the matter, Stephanie? You’re not threatened by my presence are you?” Sara asked in an equally as cold tone.

Instinctively Stephanie moved to lunge forward but Marissa was quick to stop her. Her hand gently pressing against Stephanie’s stomach, silently reminding her that she had passengers on board.

“There is nothing about you that is threatening _to me_. But if you three think for one minute that I am going to let you drag Mark through the mud, you have another goddamn thing coming.” She said menacingly.

“My client has a clause in his contract that he can add an extra attendant of his choosing at ringside any time he wants. A contract guarantee that you signed off on when he went exclusive to your brand!” Paul said triumphantly, knowing she couldn’t deny any of the guarantees that she promised him. 

Stephanie immediately scowled, but she wasn’t entirely backed into a corner. She knew she had one card to play to ensure that Mark will be protected from more scandal.

“You just can’t resist the urge to protect your fiancé at all costs, can you?” Paul questioned with a sinister chuckle as he watched Stephanie closely.

“Oh I don’t think I am anymore protective over him than Brock is protective over Nicole.” She said matter-of-factly. The mere mention of the name ‘Nicole’ had Brock standing and glaring down at Stephanie. “It doesn’t feel so great, does it Brock?” She added, looking at him with a knowing gaze.

“How the fuck do you know about Nicole?” He asked, his posture that of a snake ready to strike.

“Paul isn’t the only one who can dig up private information. Unlike you though, I’m not into dragging private matters into business matters. But wouldn’t the crowd eat it up to learn you are also engaged with a _very_ pregnant fiancée too?” Stephanie questioned, standing her ground.

Paul was quick to climb to his feet as he didn’t want Brock to try and lay his hands on Stephanie. If he hurt her, then all bets would be off and they both would be out of a job regardless of their contracts. “What is it that you want, Stephanie?” Paul asked, moving in between his client and the boss.

“If you want this bitch here, she keeps her damn mouth shut. If she so much as utters Mark’s name to the audience, none of you will like the repercussions. Not only will I make sure your business is broadcast to the audience at large, but I will actively work to make your life a living hell. If you thought the wrath of Vince McMahon was bad, you haven’t seen a damn thing yet.” She laid down the law, obviously hitting her limit for the shit they had been pulling. So much so that she had just tipped her hand to just how much personal information she had on Brock at her disposal.

Paul inhaled sharply as she had the upper hand for the moment, but he didn’t see her maintaining it for long. He had been doing more digging and there was more than Sara that he could use against the Undertaker. “Fine, Sara wasn’t planning on talking anyway.” Paul acquiesced, as she was more of a visual distraction in any case. Definitely meant to play mind games with Taker, while they were out at the ring.

Stephanie merely nodded, ready to turn around and leave, but she paused and glanced over to Sara. “Sara, I suggest you of all people, not test me. Baby or no baby, I will _end_ you, if you hurt him.” She threatened, the look in her blue eyes full of fierce intensity. Without another word, she stormed out of the locker room.

Marissa merely shook her head as she knew how serious Stephanie was being with her threats. “Are titles really worth all of this?” She asked with a definite distaste to her voice. Though she didn’t wait for any of them to answer before she walked out the door next.

“Now what, Paul?” Brock asked, clearly not happy with this turn of events.

“Sara isn’t the only ace up our sleeve. Besides, she doesn’t need to talk for the audience to know her meaning to the Undertaker. Anyone who watched the shows last year, know who she is and they’ve likely been curious about what happened to her.” Paul replied, coolly.

Sara merely glared at the door that Stephanie walked out of, internally seething. Mark was the one who betrayed her and yet he immediately bounced back into a relationship with his boss’ daughter. The very daughter that she had witnessed him feud with for the last two years. It just didn’t make sense to her that those two somehow ended up together. “I will never understand how those two ended up a couple.” Sara said with a shake of her own head. “Especially after the fights he had with her ex-husband. They made him and Glenn utterly miserable.”

Brock took a seat next to Sara as he decided if he wanted to say anything, but maybe she didn’t really see what a lot of other folks saw, including himself. Back when he was a fan of the WWE and working hard to one day become a part of the product he noticed a lot of details that never got addressed by the commentators. “From the moment Stephanie McMahon became an on-air talent, there has always been a spark between her and the Undertaker. I’m guessing they finally got a chance to realize it when they both became unattached.” Brock said frankly.

Paul merely shrugged, before nodding his agreement. “Yeah, he’s right. Even when they were on opposite sides feuding sparks were flying between those two. You really didn’t notice?”

“Not really, but I guess I should have noticed.” She inhaled sharply, now wondering if there was more to the story than they got together after their respective breakups. And here she was angry at him for all the random ring rats he got involved with after she stopped traveling with him.

xXx

By the time Stephanie made it back to her office, the anger was still radiating off of her. Just when she thought, they couldn’t find a new way to make her temper flare harder, they had to find a way. Shane and Mark both stood the moment they laid eyes on her, but she wasn’t in the mood to say anything to either of them. She simply waved them off as she went to take a seat behind her desk. Marissa came into the office and immediately shut the door behind her.

“Tell me, you didn’t just play your only trump card, sis?” Marissa asked, knowing how long it had taken them to get that bit of information on Brock.

“I had to, sis.” Stephanie replied, picking up the stapler on her desk and smashing it against the wall.

“Wait, what trump card?” Mark asked, looking between Stephanie and Marissa expectantly. Even Shane had a questioning look on his face. Stephanie inhaled sharply, while Marissa merely grimaced. “Steph, Risa.” He continued to press.

Finally Marissa grabbed her briefcase and opened it up, pulling out a file and handing it to Mark. He opened it to see that it was all about Brock Lesnar, an extensive report about his personal life. He flipped the top page up to see a photo of Brock with a very obviously pregnant woman, walking out of a store. He quickly glanced up at Marissa and Stephanie with something akin to confusion and incredulousness. “How long have you known about this?” He asked, trying to keep his temper at bay.

“The report came back the day after Unforgiven. So not long at all. Brock is a _very_ private person, so it was a rarity for the investigator to find him on an outing. Her name is Nicole McClain and Stephanie just used her knowledge of her to keep Sara from opening her mouth about her past relationship with you.” Marissa said, slowly taking the folder out of his hand. 

“Oh man, you two dug that deep for dirt on Brock! I can’t believe it.” Shane said completely blown away. “Were you two ever going to say anything?” He asked, his jaw practically hanging open in shock.

“Well frankly I was hoping I wouldn’t have to say anything. That knowledge was meant to be insurance, but we all know what they were going to do with Sara.” Stephanie replied, giving Mark an apologetic stare. “She’s not going to give any story times, but they intend to use her as a valet still. Sorry babe, I forgot about his contract clause regarding valets. Otherwise I would have booted her ass from this arena.”

His mind was a myriad of various emotions, anger, confusion, and shock among many other emotions that he couldn’t name. While he was glad that Sara wouldn’t be given a forum to trash him to a nationwide audience. He still had to deal with her presence in Brock’s corner, while he wrestled as the man’s partner. He couldn’t even find words to respond to Stephanie at the moment as he didn’t want to spark an argument. Finally he opted to leave as he needed some time to clear his head. 

Stephanie watched him storm out, knowing nothing she could say would make him feel less betrayed. She loved the man dearly, but she knew he hated it when she kept secrets from him, even if they were work related secrets. Noticing the hurt expression on Stephanie’s face, Marissa took it upon herself to go after Mark. It was her fault he was angry after all. Quickly she turned and headed out the door, calling out to him before he could get too far.

“Mark wait, _please_.” Marissa called out, her voice slightly breaking. The sound of her voice cracking enough to make him stop in his tracks. His expression was hardened as she approached him. “I know you are angry, but if you are going to be angry than be angry at me. The investigator was my idea.” She admitted.

His shoulders stiffened at her confession, but he knew by her tone that she was telling the truth. Marissa was far more truthful than the blood born McMahons, a trait he had grown to appreciate about her. He also knew she was fiercely protective of her family, which was likely why she chose to dig into Brock’s past for leverage that Stephanie could use against him. However he still couldn’t accept how many times they had kept him in the dark in just the last month. “Why do you guys insist on keeping secrets from me, when they affect me directly?” He whispered, unable to keep the hurt fully out of his tone.

Marissa’s gaze faltered as she looked away in sadness. “Mark, she tells you more than anyone else, but you can’t fault us for wanting to protect you.” She whispered back.

He sighed as he considered her words, deep down he knew she was right. Stephanie did confide in him more than she probably should have when it came to her business dealings. However, it was still hard to deal with her keeping secrets about things that pertained to him. It was annoying when Vince would do it, but it felt like outright betrayal coming from the woman he planned on marrying and who was carrying his children.

xXx

It was as the show was getting ready to go on air, that Stephanie received some bad news in regards to yet another wrestler jumping from Smackdown to Raw.

“Well that’s just great!” Stephanie huffed. “Batista was schedule to be D-Von’s partner against Brock and Undertaker tonight!” She added, tossing the file on the desk.

“Sorry sis, looks like Bischoff made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.” Marissa told her, with a slight grimace. Momentum had been going well for Smackdown, but this was definitely a shift for Raw.

“We got time to find a replacement, their match is the main event tonight!” Shane said, hoping they could come up with a suitable replacement. “Do you have Rob Van Dam booked in a match tonight?” 

“Yeah, he’s in a triple threat match with Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit.” She replied, biting her bottom lip in thought. “Can one of you go check and see if anyone is interested in taking Batista’s spot as D-Von’s tag partner?” 

“Yeah, I’ll do it.” Shane offered, heading for the door, leaving Marissa and Stephanie alone for the time being.

“I’m sorry for blurting out the thing about Brock earlier. I forget how mad Mark gets when you keep those types of secrets from him.” Marissa apologized, it hadn’t been her attempt to spark another fight between her sister and her soon to be brother-in-law.

“It’s okay, sis. I should have told him what we were doing when we decided to look into Brock’s private life.” She sighed as she hated to see Marissa blame herself, when she already knew how Mark would react to her keeping another secret like that. It seemed like since his feud with Brock really got started that professionally they were clashing heads more than usual, since they started to work on the same side. Truly it wasn’t lost on her that their personal life had a lot of highs that were quickly offset by business lows. If she thought about it much longer, she knew she would break down into tears.

xXx

Even though he knew that he was going to come face to face with his ex-wife at some point, the moment wasn’t any less jarring when it finally happened.

“Hello Mark.” She said dryly, the look in her eyes speaking volumes over her feelings toward him.

Not that he expected her to be happy to see him after the way things ended between them. He couldn’t stop himself from shifting his stance in discomfort as deep down he did feel bad for how he had hurt her. “Sara, you’re looking well.” He replied, trying to be civil toward her. He had no idea how long Brock intended to keep her around, thus he saw no point in getting into a fight with her or letting himself be baited into one.

“Thanks.” She said flatly. “I’m surprised to see you off the leash, since it sounds like Stephanie keeps you close.” She added in a snide tone.

Mark slowly inhaled a deep breath as he tried to fight down the urge to come back with a biting remark, though he was quickly failing in that endeavor. “She doesn’t keep me close, I stay close out of a desire to be near her.” He said pointedly.

Instantly she frowned at his retort, resisting the urge to slap him. “Well you’ve always been your boss’ favorite employee. So I guess marrying his daughter was the next step in becoming the ultimate suck up.” She shot back.

“She’s the love of my life, her being my boss’ daughter is completely coincidental.” He quickly admitted before he could stop himself.

Sara’s expression darkened at that confession, while inwardly she remembered a time he loved her so much that he had her name tattooed on his throat. Though it wasn't lost on her that he had that same tattoo removed over the last few months after their split. It made her wondered what was so damn special about Stephanie McMahon. If not for the deal that kept her tongue tied, Sara would have completely trashed him to the audience. He deserved to be trashed as far as she was concerned. In her eyes he was nothing more than a lying sack of shit. “What the hell is so damn special about her? What about her inspires you to keep your dick in your pants? Why does she get spared having to deal with your wandering eye?” She questioned, unable to bite her tongue any longer.

“Sara, I’m sorry I fucked things up between us, but you really weren’t the one, _she is_.” He said frankly. He might have been angry with Stephanie at the moment, but he couldn’t imagine his life without her or their children in it. Point in fact, just thinking about a life without her made him feel sick to his stomach. While once upon a time, he had thought he was in love with Sara. When he thought back on how he felt for her in comparison to what he was currently feeling for Stephanie. He knew right away that things with Stephanie were very different.

“Just how long have you known that? Did you realize it, when you were kidnapping her in the name of her father? Or maybe it was when she put a restraining order on you, so you couldn’t get near her ex-husband Hunter? Or could it have been when she watched week in and week out as Hunter and Steve beat the living crap out of you and Glenn?” She questioned bitterly bringing up many instances of Stephanie being his enemy in the past.

His back stiffened at her barrage of questions as he remembered all those things happening, but most hadn’t realized that Stephanie had willingly took part in the Ministry of Darkness storyline. During that time, they had two significant encounters and both times he had been tempted to act on his impulses. It was during that particular storyline that he realized how much he was attracted to his boss’ daughter. However, she was already involved with someone else, so he chose not to pursue her. “She and I weren’t having some sort of affair, if that’s what you are trying to uncover here.” He frowned.

Sara's gaze narrowed, not really believing him, considering the number of times he had lied to her. "Of course not, you were too busy fucking all your little ring rats to run around with the boss' daughter." She retorted, coldly. 

"Sara, what do you want from me? Every demand your lawyer made, I gave in despite the prenuptial agreement. What the hell are Paul and Brock offering you to be here? We both know you’re not hurting for money.” He demanded, already tired of the back and forth.

Sara crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at him long and hard. “This isn’t about money, Mark.” She replied simply, taking a step closer to him, so that he could look into her eyes. “After everything you put me through, I’m just petty enough to want to see you suffer.” She added in a harsh whisper before storming off.

Mark found himself frowning. While he wasn’t exactly surprised by her words, he still wished that she would get over the past and move on with her life. 

xXx

As Ron Simmons had stepped up to the plate to be D-Von’s partner for tournament. He and D-Von found themselves watching Eddie and Chavo’s match against Mark Henry and Rikishi intently. Either team would be tough to beat, but they were more concerned with their opponents, Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker.

“Do you think those two can get on the same page long enough to face us?” D-Von asked as Ron knew Mark longer than he did.

“Even if they aren’t on the same page, they are going to be tough to beat.” Ron replied with a frown. Granted he knew Sara was bound to be a huge distraction for Taker, but he didn’t want to voice that opinion to D-Von. Mark was actually a fairly close friend to him outside of the business. Thus he didn’t want to gossip about the guy and his personal matters.

“True, they have both been pretty damn vicious lately, even with their injuries from Unforgiven, that hasn’t slowed either of them down.” D-Von agreed, even if Batista had stayed on Smackdown to be his partner in the match, they still would have their work cut out for them. “Ron we can’t take it easy on them, if we want to advance in this tournament, then we are going to have to pull out all the stops.”

“Yeah, we’re definitely going to come out the gate swinging.” Ron nodded, while tables weren’t really his thing. He didn’t have any qualms about using them to help out in this situation.

Before they knew it, the time had come for them to head ringside. It wasn’t lost on either of them that they likely got the main event slot because Brock and Taker were involved in the match. However neither man was going to let that deter them from taking advantage of the opportunity they had been given.

The crowd reaction to Brock and Heyman coming out with Sara was huge, the crowd were seriously confused but many of them remembered exactly who Sara was. Thus the mood was heightened the moment that the Undertaker came out next. While he did his usual posing for the crowd’s pictures, he was greeted with a huge pop from the fans. The moment he and Brock locked eyes, tension filled the air. Heyman and Sara merely looked on from ringside, waiting to see if the two men would actually function as a team or risk suspension.

However, they didn’t get a choice as suddenly D-Von and Ron attacked the distracted partners, knocking both Taker and Brock out of the ring. The crowd a mix of cheers and boos as Taker turned his glare on D-Von inside the ring. While Brock pointed a finger at Ron, warning him that he was going to get his ass kicked.

“I got this!” Taker snapped at Brock, jumping into the ring to take it to D-Von as the ref called for the bell, while pushing Ron to get to his corner turnbuckle. D-Von looking more like the old D-Von Dudley of Dudleyville rather than the Reverend D-Von he’d been portraying as of late. The extra viciousness of old beginning to shine through as he went toe to toe with Taker, managing to back him into the corner, so Ron could get shots in on him as D-Von distracted the referee.

Paul couldn’t help but grumble his displeasure. “Oh come on, Taker! You’re going to make Brock look bad!” He shouted, while Brock glared into the ring. Sara however remained silent, watching the match up intently.

D-Von and Ron traded positions as Ron and Taker went back and forth. Ron recently giving up on the Faarooq name, seeing no point in it, since it really wasn’t a gimmick anymore. He too was fighting with a renewed vigor, determined to make the most of his current opportunity. Viciously taking it to Taker, their friendship pushed to the side in the spirit of competition. 

However one miscalculation that saw Ron sending Taker into the ropes, gave Brock the opportunity to blind tag into the match. Even as Taker bounced off the ropes and hit Ron with flying clothesline. He rolled out of the ring to catch his breath as Brock picked Ron up ready to deliver a F-5 on him, but D-Von quickly got into the ring to kick Brock in the midsection. As the referee went to push D-Von out of the ring, Ron hit a low blow on Brock and proceeded to DDT the young champion’s head into the mat. Quickly he went for the cover, but Taker broke up the pinfall and hit a standing leg drop on Ron.

D-Von hit Taker in the back knocking him out of the ring, before the referee could react. Clearly getting pissed off, Taker pulled D-Von under the ropes to the outside and the two men started to brawl. Meanwhile the crowd were on their feet as they noticed, Sara got up on the apron to distract the referee as Heyman tossed Brock his title belt. Swiftly Brock smashed Ron in the face with the title belt, before throwing the belt out of the ring and hoisting Ron back onto his shoulders for another F-5 attempt. Though this time he hit it as D-Von had his hands full with Undertaker brawling outside of the ring. The crowd cheered counting along with the referee as the unlikely tag team of Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker won the match.

Just as D-Von and Taker stopped fighting on the outside, Taker turned around to find himself coming face to face with Sara again. A cruel smirk crossed her lips as she suddenly slapped him. Instinctively he was about to grab her by the throat, but D-Von reacted faster grabbing the taller man before he could do something he might regret later.

“Whoa big guy, this isn’t the time or the place.” D-Von whispered, hiding his mouth away from the camera as he pulled Taker back. Gingerly Ron rolled out of the ring, rubbing the back of his head. Though he was just in time to help D-Von urge Taker to come back with them as the big man was not only in a stare down with his ex-wife but with Brock and Heyman too.

“Come on, man. It’s not worth getting suspended.” Ron told him as they walked up the ramp. 

As the three men made it backstage into Gorilla position, Stephanie was seated by one of the monitors looking fairly angry herself. She glanced over to D-Von and Ron. “Good match you two and thanks for stepping up and stopping your opponents from fighting each other.” She said with a definite sincerity. While she may have been pissed at Sara for putting her hands on Mark, she was very impressed with D-Von and Ron’s performance, especially in light of the fact that they had only been made a team that very day.

“Thanks, Steph.” Ron replied as he gave Mark a pat on the back. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” He replied with a sharp inhale, aside from the urge to choke his ex-wife, he was doing just fine.

Before anyone else could say anything, Brock, Heyman and Sara came through the curtain into Gorilla position. Immediately Stephanie stood up ready to make a beeline for Sara, but D-Von was quick to catch her. “Whoa there boss.” He said, for the second time stopping an attack on the blonde troublemaker.

“If you two don’t get that bitch out of my face, no one is going to be able to hold me back for much longer.” Stephanie said, her face twisted in rage.

“Calm down, Steph, all that anger can’t be good for your baby.” Heyman said with mock concern as he ushered Brock and Sara through Gorilla position toward the larger backstage area.

“That’s Ms McMahon to you, Heyman!” She snapped at him.

“Gotcha, _Ms McMahon_.” Heyman mocked her as they headed back to their locker room to gather their things.

“That fat fuck!” She muttered, dropping down in her seat. The annoyance evident on her face. Heyman was getting way too good at pushing her buttons, even better than Bischoff at this point. Clearly she needed to come up with a plan to neutralize Paul Heyman directly because just holding something over Brock’s head was obviously not enough. Then there was the matter of Sara, a thorn in her side that needed to be handled, before she snapped and strangled that bitch herself. “How long before you’re ready to go?” Stephanie asked Mark.

“We can leave now. I’ll shower and change at the hotel.” He replied, ready to put some distance between himself and the arena, before he was driven to do something that would land him in deep trouble. 


	7. Revelations and Comeuppances!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie and Mark have some issue they need to work on. While she also works on a plan to extract some payback on Team Lesnar.

After the events of the last Smackdown, things were notably strained between her and Mark. Something that annoyed Stephanie greatly. It really felt like she could not catch a break as of late. Things had been tense enough that he decided to spend his break in Texas, while she remained in Connecticut. A fact that put her into a foul mood for the rest of her work week. Her mood swings getting bad enough that Marissa decided to speak to her about it.

“Sweety, are you okay?” Marissa asked as she walked into her sister-in-law’s office with the notes from the Creative department as well as some files from their investigators.

“Why wouldn’t I be fine?” Stephanie snapped, glancing up from her laptop to see Marissa looking at her with eyes full of concern. Heavily she sighed, leaning back in her chair as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Sorry, sis. It’s been a shitty week, since Smackdown.” 

“Have you and Mark talked...at all since the night after Smackdown?” Marissa asked, moving to take a seat.

“Long enough for him to tell me, he’d see me at the next Smackdown.” Stephanie replied, looking completely annoyed with that notion. “This shit with Paul, Brock and Sara has really fucked with our formula.”

“But are you two going to be okay though?” Marissa questioned, worried that Paul and Brock were getting what they wanted in separating Mark and Stephanie. However, she hoped that Stephanie and Mark would fight for each other. Not just for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of their babies.

“I hope so.” Stephanie said, resting a hand on her growing baby bump. “I love that man far too much to let this situation with Paul, Brock and Sara come between us.” She added, her voice full of conviction. “I just know we are being tested here.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to crush Sara and get her off of Smackdown and then I need to figure out a way to get rid of Heyman.” She replied frankly, inhaling sharply. At this point there wasn’t a line she wasn’t willing to cross to protect her man from being dragged through the mud by Heyman and his games.

“Okay, but I meant what are you going to do about you and Mark?” Marissa clarified. “You can’t wait until the next Smackdown to fix things between you two.”

“I know, but I have a business meeting I have to attend to first, then I can go to Texas and get my man.” She replied with a smirk.

Marissa instantly smiled, that was the sort of spirit, she liked to see from her little sister. “Good, there’s the Stephanie I know and love.” She chuckled. 

xXx

It was a rarity that he invited his co-workers outside of his closest friends to his house, however he made an exception as the work week had been an utter shitshow for him. Granted the only ones he ended up inviting to his place were among the locker room veterans. So he found himself hanging out with Ron Simmons, Solofa Fatu, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Devon Hughes. While he had invited Charles Wright, Kurt Angle and Mark Henry as well, all three men had other plans for their days off, so they ended up declining the rare invite.

Honestly, it had been a while since Mark had been able to hang out with the guys at all. So he was actually enjoying getting to drink beers and play cards with the boys. He hadn’t realized how much he missed the after hour shenanigans. Until the guys were catching him up on some of the things that had happened, since he had chosen to spend his nights with his lady instead. 

“How are things with you and the boss anyway?” Devon asked curiously, since the subject of Stephanie had gotten mentioned. He noted that they had left Smackdown together, but it looked like they were spending time apart now.

Mark frowned as he didn’t want to talk about Stephanie or any of the clusterfuck surrounding them at present. 

“Dude, I know that look. What’s going on?” Solofa asked with a slight frown of his own. Inwardly hoping that his friend wasn’t fucking up yet another relationship. He had been there for the fall out with Jodi and then Sara, not to mention the few ring rats that had managed to get attached to him, during his respective marriages to both women. While Mark was his boy, he could fully admit that Mark didn’t have the best track record with the women he got involved with over the years. Though it did seem that the relationship with Stephanie had seen him turn over a new leaf, but Solofa would be lying if he said he didn’t think that Mark would go back to his old habits once again.

“You know what is going on. Paul Heyman keeps seeing fit to air my business, every chance he gets.” Mark grumbled, before taking a swig of his beer. It was tremendously hard not to be frustrated at just how personal Paul had been making things as of late. Not even when Page had been encouraged to stalk his ex-wife, Sara had things ever been _that_ personal. 

“So what? Does that mean Steph’s pissed at you for them bringing in Sara?” Solofa asked, looking a bit incredulous at the idea that she might be taking Mark to task for shit that was out of his control.

Mark’s back stiffened as he remained silent, leaving the guys to wonder if Solofa had hit the nail on the head with that question. However, Benoit offered another consideration with his own question. 

“Or are you pissed at her for tethering you to Brock, while your ex-wife is his valet?” Benoit asked a bit pointedly, causing Mark to glare hard at him.

“Oh come on, man. Are you seriously going to blame your mamacita for something like that?” Eddie asked, catching on to the body language that Mark was putting out. “She was just trying to prolong your heat with Brock for a bigger pay day. How could she know that Heyman would call in your ex-wife as support?” He added, taking a drink of his own beer. While he wasn’t always a fan of Stephanie McMahon’s decisions, he did note that the woman had a mind for the business and that she would likely only get better as she gained more experience in it.

“You ain’t saying anything I haven’t thought over. Look I’m not pissed at her, but it is damn hard not to still be annoyed that this shit is happening.” Mark finally replied, tired of the barrage of questions. “It is not like I plan on breaking up with Stephanie over this crap. I just needed a little space.”

“Hey man, I know Paul as well as anyone can know him. It doesn’t matter if Stephanie made you and Brock a tag team or not. He likely would have brought Sara in regardless.” Devon offered, having worked with Paul Heyman many times over the years both in ECW and WWE. So he knew just how ruthless the man could get when he was determined to get his way.

“I know, Heyman has always been a shark. Even back when he was my manager during my WCW days.” Mark sighed, wishing that they could drop the subject as he really just wanted a brief respite from the drama.

“Yeah, yeah Heyman’s a jackass. Now can we get back to this hand of cards?” Ron demanded, he wasn’t one to get caught up in anyone else’s personal business and he honestly didn’t want to be apart of the current conversation. Mark might have been his friend, but Stephanie was their boss. Thus he didn’t want to be apart of any gossip that involved her.

“Thank you!” Chavo chimed in, not really wanting to be apart of the current conversation either. While he was considered a veteran by his years spent in the business. He didn't have the kind of clout that could allow him to piss a boss off and not pay for it in spades.

However, both Ron and Devon’s cell phones went off as they both received a message from Stephanie about having a meeting in her office before Smackdown was set to air this coming week. Simultaneously they checked their phones and looked genuinely surprised, considering they had just been in the middle of a conversation about her.

"Okay, were her ears burning?" Devon asked, glancing at the text. Though before anyone could say anything, Devon got another text from her, telling him he would be able to drop his Reverend gimmick, but tell no one about it. Instantly he frowned, but remained silent as he mulled things over.

"Was that still the boss?" Ron asked, curiously.

"Yeah, just an extra instruction for the meeting on Thursday." He replied with a shrug before pocketing his phone again. "Whose turn was it?" He asked, trying to get the game back on track.

However, that was easier said than done as Mark's cellphone rang next. As soon as he looked at the display, he excused himself from the table and went outside for some privacy. "Hey Steph." He answered with a slight sigh.

The moment she heard the sigh from him, she frowned. “Are you still mad at me?” She asked candidly. There was no point in beating around the bush, they needed to talk and she had no intention of waiting until Thursday to do so.

“I’m not mad at you, Steph.” He replied, a bit irritably as he was getting tired of being asked that question in general. 

“Well you sound like it. If I could see your face, I would have a better gauge on the situation.” She said pointedly, letting him know she wasn’t happy with his decision to remain in Texas _away_ from her.

He sighed, picking up on her hidden message fairly quickly. Instinctively he ran his hand through the front of his hair. “Steph, I just needed some space. I’ve been pissed with all the crap Heyman and Brock have been doing and I didn’t want to misdirect that anger at you…”

“Mark that isn’t a good enough excuse! What are you going to do when I finally move to Texas and you happen to need space? Am I going to have to deal with you running off to god knows where?” She asked, her voice hardening as she wasn’t prepared to let him run away from her or their children when things got rough. Especially as her definition of space was going to a different room, not going to an entirely different state like he had done. “I’m telling you right now, this is not going to be a habit that I am going to put up with!”

Mark stiffened at the tone in her voice, he could sense the threat being made to him. He was silent for several moments as he thought over his words carefully as it seemed that she would be the one to break up with him, if he didn’t get his shit together. “What are you saying, Steph?” He asked, trying to keep the panic from rising in his chest.

“I love you, Mark. I want to be with you, even when things are bad, but if you don’t feel the same…” She paused, her voice almost breaking. “I can’t be with you if I feel like you are going to run away from me when you suddenly feel the need for space. I won’t do that to myself or our children.” She added, barely holding back her tears. She hated having to draw that line in the sand, but she realized that they had moved so fast in their relationship that she hadn’t really set boundaries for him outside the obvious one of no cheating.

Mark stood silent, looking absolutely gutted at the idea that she was going to walk away from him and take their children with her. “I can’t lose you, Steph. Look, I’ll take the next flight I can get to Connecticut, so we can talk in person.” He whispered, barely keeping his emotions in check.

Stephanie inhaled sharply, feeling relief that he was willing to come to her, so they could work things out in person. Lightly she wiped at her glistening eyes. “You don’t have to do that. I already have a flight booked to go to you. I should be there in eight hours. I just needed to know if I was going to be welcomed or not.”

He instantly exhaled, not even realizing that he had been holding his breath as he listened to her. “Tell me what time your flight comes in and I’ll be there to pick you up.” He told her as the short discussion between them had been enough to sober him up and spark his need to see her.

Meanwhile inside the house, the guys had gone silent, all of them straining to hear what Mark was saying as they all assumed he was speaking to Stephanie. They managed to hear the change in Mark’s tone as he went from sounding annoyed to sounding distressed within in seconds. Quietly they glanced around at each other as they all seemed to be on the same wavelength.

“Sounds like the card game is over.” Solofa said in a low voice. The rest of the guys nodded their agreement, though they decided to wait for Mark to return first. Several minutes later, Mark finally came back inside and the guys tried to act like they hadn’t heard anything.

However, Mark glanced around the table, picking up their discomfort at his reappearance. Silently he frowned, but he chose not to ask them what they heard. He honestly didn’t want to know when he thought about it. “Sorry guys, Stephanie is coming into town tonight. So we’re going to have to wrap things up here.” He said simply, his neutral mask back firmly in place.

The guys merely murmured and nodded as they tossed their cards on the table and began gathering their things. Most of them were staying in a hotel in Houston, with the plan of heading to Phoenix for their next show on the day after the next. 

xXx

True to his word, when she walked through the gates at the airport to the baggage claim area, she was greeted by her fiancé waiting patiently for her. Immediately she dropped the handle on her carry on bag and flung herself into his arms. Instinctively he buried his face into the side of her neck as he held her tightly. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He whispered.

She merely nodded, not trusting herself to speak at that moment as her emotions were still running high between her hormones and just the strain that had been happening between them. After a moment, she pulled back to look him in the eyes, gently she grasped his face before leaning in to kiss him. Finally they pulled apart before things could escalate between them as they were still in a public area.

Later they found themselves in the car heading back to the house, the fatigue of the events of the day finally catching up with both of them. Silently she glanced over to him, noting he hadn’t said anything since his apology in the airport. He didn’t look mad, but he certainly looked exhausted. She felt exhausted herself, not just from their argument, but from the traveling as well, since she had done it on such short notice. 

“I’m sorry, I scared you, Mark. But I had to let you know where I stood on you wanting distance from me when things are strained between us.” She said softly. “It’s one thing to go into another room, it is another to put states between us.”

He took a chance to glance over to her, seeing the sadness on her face. He sighed as he hadn’t wanted her to take his need for space to mean he would always want miles of distance between them. “Baby, it wasn’t that I wanted to put states between us. It’s just easier to wind down in Texas because it is where I am comfortable. Connecticut is nice, but it doesn’t always feel like home to me.” He explained, still looking dejected that he almost lost her over a misunderstanding. He could honestly kick himself for not communicating with her better. After two failed marriages, he really thought he would be better at this aspect of relationships, but apparently he still needed work.

“Well you should have lead with that, rather than just announcing you would see me next week on Smackdown.” She replied, giving him a flat stare. “I would have been fine with you coming to Texas to decompress, if you just told me that from the start. Heck, you know I don’t mind distance between us, when you are visiting your family or if you are working live events or what not. Those things aren’t personal, they don’t make me feel like you don’t want to be around me.”

“I know, sweetheart and I am still sorry that it came off like I was running from _you_. That was never my intention, I don’t want to run from you. God, the idea of losing you just makes me feel sick to my stomach.” He admitted, reaching out to grab a hold of her hand. “When it comes to work, we’ve been fighting more than usual. I just wanted to clear my head and get my perspective back. Heyman and Lesnar have been pushing my buttons and getting under my skin more than anyone ever has in my career.” He added with a sharp inhaled. Just saying the words out loud making him feel far more vulnerable than he had ever felt in his entire career. Not even the brutal beating that Bruiser Brody had put on him in his first real professional wrestling match made him feel as exposed as Heyman had managed over the last month of his feud with Brock Lesnar.

Instinctively she squeezed his hand in a comforting gesture. “You’re not the only one whose buttons are being pushed, babe.” She sighed. “Heyman’s gotten even better than Bischoff at getting a rise out of me.” She hated to admit it, because it gave a measure of power to the man and the last thing she wanted was for Heyman to have any sort of power over her.

“Then what do we do about Heyman and Brock?” Mark asked in earnest. While it was his physical feud, she was still very much involved on both a personal and professional level.

Stephanie sighed. “Mark, I’m about to take a page out of my father’s book and I’m not sure I want you to be directly involved.” She answered, glancing over to him.

Mark chance a glance over to her and frowned, unsure he was going to like where this conversation was about to head. “What are you going to do?” He asked warily.

“I’ll tell you when we get to the house.” She told him as she was going to need his undivided attention and she didn’t want to risk another argument while they were still driving.

xXx

Despite a rather lengthy and heated conversation between Stephanie and himself the day before, they managed to present a united front when they appeared at the arena for Smackdown. As they split up, he headed toward the trainer’s room to get checked out, since he was still nursing a concussion. A concussion that had been made worse when Brock hit him in the head with his title belt over two weeks ago. Though before he could reach his designation, a familiar voice calling out to him got his immediate attention.

“Hey Mark, long time no see.”

He stopped in his tracks taking a deep breath, before turning his gaze toward a very familiar figure. She was the _very_ last person, he ever wanted to see again. Instantly he glared at her, though she merely gave him one of her signature mischievous smiles. “Oh, what’s with the look? Are you not happy to see me?” She asked with a small chuckle. 

However, he didn’t verbally respond, rather he moved forward grabbing her by the arm and dragged her into the nearest unoccupied room. He wasn’t taking any chances of cameramen walking by and capturing their interaction for all to see. “What the hell are you doing here, Haley?” He questioned through gritted teeth.

“I missed you too, Mark.” She said smugly, pressing herself against him. He grabbed hold of her shoulders and forcibly pushed her back. Clearly not amused with her games.

“Why are you here?” He asked again, drawing out the words by their syllables. His green eyes burning with anger over her presence in the arena.

“You should really be kinder to me, Mark. Especially since, I’ve kept our story to myself, despite offers to share it with the public.” Haley smiled, her blue eyes sparkling with sheer spite.

Mark inhaled sharply. Instinctively he bit his bottom lip, cursing himself for ever getting involved with the masochistic skank in front of him. She was the ring rat that had brought his marriage to Sara down. “This is Heyman’s doing, isn’t it!” He snapped, narrowing his gaze at her.

“Kinda, he gave me a call and offered me a valet position for his client, Brock Lesnar. I was considering accepting, but there’s a part of me that wants you back, baby.” She replied, reaching up to grab a hold of the front of his shirt with a look of pure lust in her eyes.

He scowled at her words, his hand moving up to grab her by the throat. Before she could react, he had pinned against the wall, holding her high enough that she was forced to stand on her tiptoes or be choked. “That is _never_ going to happen. When are you going to get it through your thick head? I never gave a damn about you. You broke up my marriage running your big mouth off to my ex-wife and I still didn’t go back to you. If that ain’t a big clue that I don’t want you, I don’t know what is!” He growled in a low voice, his hand squeezing her throat for good measure.

She grasped at his wrist with both hands, while glaring at him defiantly. “You say that now, but you wanted me often enough. Don’t pretend like it was just some one night stand between us.” She spat back, grimacing when he squeezed her neck hard enough to cut off her breath.

“Well I _don’t_ want you now. I told my fiancée about you, so don’t think that running your mouth off at her, will have the same effect that it had with Sara. She’d snapped you in half rather than listen to your fairy tales.” He said harshly, releasing his grip on Haley’s neck.

Haley nearly slipped to the floor as she rubbed at her throat, her black hair falling into her face. “You fucking bastard!” She hissed at him. “You think I give a damn about your fiancée? What makes you think you can hang on to her? You seriously think she won’t drop your ass the moment she figures out the sick and twisted things that run through your mind? You can throw all the insults you want at me, but I was the one who was willing to give you what you wanted when Sara wouldn’t!” She snapped at him angrily.

Mark turned a sadistic gaze on Haley that made her blood run cold as he roughly pinned her against the wall. His lips mere millimeters from the shell of her ear, that she could feel the moisture from his hot breath on her skin. Inwardly she cursed herself for feeling so turned on by his roughness, despite the fear that was rising in her belly. “That’s where you are wrong, Haley. There’s a reason why my lady and I connected in the first place. She knows things about me that Sara never had a clue about and she’s _still_ with me.” He sneered, causing her to involuntarily shudder in his grasp. “If you know what is good for you, you’ll leave this arena and take your ass back to obscurity where you fucking belong!” He stated cruelly, shoving her away from himself again.

Despite the venom in his words and the harsh treatment, she still felt desire for the man. That was the power that Mark Calaway had over her. Thus seeing him with the Billion Dollar Princess, while he gave her such devoted gazes made Haley sick to her stomach. Pushing her hair fully out of her face, she turned a chilling gaze toward Mark. “I won’t stay your dirty little secret, Mark.” She threatened even as he roughly gripped her arms once more.

“I swear if you go running your mouth off again, you are going to regret it.” He promised. His own body almost shaking with rage as he very much wanted to choke her out. It took all of his willpower not to bash her damn head against the wall for daring to show her fucking face again. While his indiscretion with the masochist in front of him had led to the demise of his marriage to Sara, he couldn’t fully regret the encounters he had with her. Since ultimately it had set him on a collision course with Stephanie in the first place.

“I won’t give up on winning you back. There’s no way the Princess can give you everything you need. She’ll never bend to your will! You’ll only ever be her bitch!” Haley growled at him, refusing to back down.

“It’s none of your concern what she can and can’t give me. I’ll _never_ want you back, Haley. I already got everything that I wanted out of you a long time ago. You’re worthless to me.” He replied, spitefully.

She glanced away from him trying to keep her emotions at bay, but his words stung down to her core. While she always played the part of masochist for him, there was a sadist living inside her as well and that sadist wanted to see him suffer for being such a cruel unappreciative bastard to her. “If that’s true, then why are you so desperate for me to keep my mouth shut?” She shot back.

“Keep pushing and you’ll end up getting all the pain with none of the pleasure.” He warned her, pushing her aside as he finally left the room in a huff.

She unceremoniously fell to the floor as she glared over her shoulder at his retreating back. He hadn’t seen the last of her. Paul Heyman had given her the opportunity to see Mark again and she wasn’t going to waste it. She couldn’t care less about his pregnant fiancée or the fact that she was the boss of Smackdown. All she cared about was getting the deadman back.

xXx

Stephanie had finished her meeting with Ron and D-Von fairly early as what she had to tell them was straightforward and to the point. Thus she was alone by the time Mark came storming into her office. Immediately he locked the door behind him, causing her to raise an eyebrow.

“What’s going on?” She asked, leaning back in her chair. She knew Mark well enough to know something had set him off big time.

“Heyman’s still digging into my past.” He replied quietly, trying to keep his rage at bay. “I just had a run in with the ring rat that broke up my marriage to Sara.”

Stephanie instantly frowned as she knew exactly who he was talking about. She’d never met the woman, but he had been completely honest about the affair he had engaged in with this particular rat. Apparently she had indulged a lot of his darker and base desires. Definitely not something he would want a light shined on from a personal perspective, but given his on-screen character, it couldn’t have fit his persona better. Especially with him referring to himself as Big Evil. Though she wasn’t sure if she should bring that aspect up, since he was clearly irritated. “If they got Sara with them. I can have your little groupie removed from the building. Brock’s contract only guarantees him one valet in addition to his agent’s presence.” Stephanie told him, more than willing to handle the situation as she was planning on doing that with Heyman and Sara in the first place.

“This chick is delusional Steph. I don’t know that I want her near you, even if you had back up.” He replied, letting his concern finally reach his eyes. The fact that the psycho had gone out of her way to get in Sara’s ear was a sign that there wasn’t a line she wouldn’t cross. The girl was a masochist, not entirely a submissive when it came down to it. If she had been a full fledged submissive, she would have been a helluva lot more obedient than she had been. “She’s dangerous to you and our children.” He added in a low voice.

Stephanie inhaled slowly, leaning back in her chair. She didn’t want to brush off his warnings, but she wasn’t willing to back down from a pending battle of the wills, because one of his former little toys didn’t know her place. This woman had appeared in _her_ territory and had designs on _her_ man. Clearly this meant that she needed to be taught a lesson in who really had the power. “Mark, while you like to call the wrestling ring out there your yard, the _entirety_ of Smackdown is _my_ yard. I’m not going to let Paul Heyman, parade your past exploits in my face and disrespect me in my yard. I will break any bitch who comes at me, let alone the ones who try to drive a wedge between us. So if that psycho bitch tries to come for me, she’s going to be in for a rude awakening.”

Mark’s eyes widened for a brief second, but he quickly recovered himself as he listened to her. It was moments like this that reminded him, why he fell in love with Stephanie in the first place. He had to shift in his seat as he felt his pants tightening at the impromptu promo she had basically cut. “Darlin’, it does things to me, when you get all sadistic and possessive like this.” He said playfully, earning a smile out of her.

“Oh really now?” She asked with a mock coyness to her voice. Slowly she climbed to her feet and moved around her desk, until she was standing fully in front of him. “What sort of things?” She added, dropping her voice into a sensual whisper as she moved forward to straddle his knee, while her hands grasped his face. Instinctively he brought his hands up to grasp her waist, her actions definitely igniting a fire in his belly.

“Why don’t you come closer and find out?” He whispered back, suddenly pulling her down into his lap, so that she could feel exactly what she was doing to him. She let out a surprised squeak at the sudden jerking motion, but quickly recovered. He bit down on his bottom lip as she moved one hand down to brush over the bulge forming in his jeans.

“Babe, we’ll have to make this quick as we both got things to do.” She whispered playfully, before roughly grasping his jaw and claiming his lips in a heated kiss. He groaned into her mouth as his own hands rubbed over her back before giving her rear end a possessive squeeze. Suddenly he was quite thankful that he had had the foresight to lock the door when he came into her office as it was a rarity for him to get a quickie out of her at any of the WWE events. Especially after she got promoted to General Manager of Smackdown. While Stephanie wasn’t necessarily a masochist or a sadist, she had tendencies for both; which meant that he was able to get more out of her than he ever got out of Jodi or Sara. Of course, he knew things would definitely change once she gave birth to their children, but he couldn’t fathom motherhood snuffing her fire out. He was certain that her McMahon stubbornness would keep her passion burning no matter how many children they ended up having in the future.

xXx

After his heated liaison with his fiancée, she had definitely been successful in making him forget about his troubles with Heyman deep diving into his past. Mark finally met up with the trainer for his check up. Things were looking up as the trainer told him that he was going to approve him going back on his live show schedule, but only for a three day schedule rather than the normal four day one. He said it was mainly as a precaution, until they knew for certain that he was okay to resume the full load. While Mark was glad to hear that he could do more events than just television appearances, a part of him actually did enjoy the time off. He hadn’t really realized just how crazy his schedule had been until he was off of it. It made him consider the future more carefully, wondering if maybe he should take retirement and focus on his personal life for the first time in years. Though there was a nagging part of him that he knew he would never truly want to give up wrestling for good.

Later he finally made his way to the locker room that he was assigned him and a few others, to find Rikishi hanging out with a concerned expression on his face. None of the other guys were in the room at present, likely they were at catering having dinner.

“What’s up, Solofa?” He asked, knowing his friend well enough to know when something was on his mind.

“I saw Sara _and_ Haley talking with Paul and Brock earlier.” He said simply. 

Those words enough to tank the good mood that Stephanie had put Mark into earlier. He sighed heavily as he dropped down on one of the benches in the room. “I still can’t believe he found that skank. Even if Sara told him about her, how would either of them know where to find her?” Mark muttered as Solofa sat near him.

“I told you that chick was nothing but trouble when you started getting involved with her back in 1999.” Solofa replied with a shake of his head. He could still remember when the crazy chick had first caught Mark’s eye. It had been during the height of the Ministry of Darkness bullshit before he had met Sara, but after he had started the stalking storyline with Stephanie. Even back then, Solofa could see the backstage chemistry between Mark and Stephanie. Though at the time, she had been dating a minor league baseball player. So that put her off the market. Truly it wasn’t lost on him, how many strippers, escorts and ring rats that his friend had gone through, since he was fresh off his divorce from Jodi at the time. Solofa had been sure that he would see his friend self-destruct if he kept on the path he was on. It was only by the grace of god that Mark got put out by a bad injury, which enabled him to meet Sara.

“It wasn’t like I didn’t know she was trouble, I just didn’t give a damn at the time. Every time I was ready to kick her to the curb, she’d always find a way to weasel her way back into my bed.” He frowned, hating himself for that old weakness. Especially since she had managed to weasel her way back into his bed after he ended up getting remarried.

“That’s probably because you still didn’t have what you _really_ wanted.” Solofa said observantly, causing Mark to scowl at him. Solofa just gave him a flat stare. He had known the moment that Mark started cheating on Sara, that she wasn’t the woman that he truly wanted to be with, otherwise he would have been able to turn Haley and the other ring rats away.

“What the hell does that mean?” Mark asked, trying to keep his voice low in case there were extra ears around.

“Come on, man. Don’t tell me that she didn’t remind you of a naughty version of Stephanie. Lighten her hair to brown and she’s almost got the likeness. At least enough to fool your perception when the lights are out.” He replied with a knowing chuckle. As far as Solofa was concerned, as soon as Stephanie had entered the picture back in 1998, showing how much she had grown up. Things with her and Mark had gotten awkward because they were both in denial of their attraction to each other. Solofa and their friend, Juan had been perceptive enough to see it, but Mark never wanted to discuss it with them. No matter how many times they tried to approach the topic with him.

Mark looked at Solofa as if he had grown another head. Inwardly he had never made the connection with their appearances. However he couldn’t really deny that he had had designs on Stephanie for longer than he liked to admit too. She was only a teenager when he first met her, so he hadn’t really paid attention to her at first. Then she reentered the picture after graduating from college and he couldn’t help but notice _how much_ she had grown up from that awkward teenager into a beautiful young woman. He had noticed so much so that he almost crossed the line with her during the Ministry of Darkness storyline. It had only been one kiss, she had reciprocated to the point that he could have probably slept with her if he had pressed for it, but his sensibilities had quickly returned to him. The encounter abruptly ending with him apologizing to her and then him running off to handle his sexual frustration elsewhere. Neither ever spoke of the incident, even when her demeanor toward him turned frosty. Slowly Solofa’s words really sunk in and Mark found himself rubbing his face. “Oh fuck…” He muttered, the sudden realization really hitting him like a ton of bricks. Had he really been searching for Stephanie in all those disposable girls he had been with the past four years?

“How can you be so observant when it comes to re-inventing yourself, but be so blind to your own feelings?” Solofa asked, lightly shaking his head again. “So what are you going to do about your obsessed ring rat?”

“I don’t know. Tonight I get a break from Brock, since we had our tournament match last week. We don’t have to wrestle together again until next week. So I’m going to focus on the match I have tonight and worry about their games later.” Mark said frankly, though he already knew what Stephanie had planned for Heyman and Sara tonight. He chose not to say anything about it.

“Who are you wrestling then?” Solofa asked as he had only checked the sheet for his own match of the night.

“I got a triple threat match with Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero.” He replied, quite thankful to be working with people that he didn’t have a personal grudge against. At least they could just have a match without it turning into a clusterfuck or shitshow.

“Oh that should be good. Rob has had great matches with both you and Eddie separately.” Solofa said with an approving nod. It was definitely a good idea to give Mark a break from his partner and with Eddie being apart of the team that had beaten himself and Mark Henry. That gave the two out of the three men tournament connections still.

xXx

As the broadcast for Smackdown started, the commentators were quick to welcome everyone to Smackdown taking place in downtown Phoenix, Arizona in the America West Arena. Which they immediately followed up with showing highlights of the previous Smackdown. Mainly reminding the audience at home which teams had advanced in the tournament for the inaugural WWE tag team titles. Making sure to note that Los Guerreros would be facing the winners of the Benoit and Angle versus Kidman and Cena match happening later in the night. While also noting that Brock and Undertaker would end up facing either the team of Edge and Rey Mysterio or Billy and Chuck. A match that was getting ready to happen first thing, much to the excitement of the crowd as they cheered once Billy and Chuck’s theme came blasting through the overhead speakers.

Meanwhile Stephanie, Shane and Marissa sat in her office watching the action over the monitor. She still hadn’t decided if she would cut a promo or not, but she knew it was only a matter of time before Heyman would show his face, since she hadn’t bothered to tell him or his client who they would be facing in the main event tonight. All they knew was that Matt Hardy would be Brock’s partner to give him and Undertaker some space from each other.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later as Edge and Rey Mysterio were declared the winners of their quarterfinals match, the cameras shifted over to Paul Heyman purposefully walking down the hallway toward Stephanie’s office. 

“Here goes.” Shane muttered, just before Paul stormed into Stephanie’s office without so much as a knock.

“What the hell are you playing at with this mystery opponents business!” He snapped, tossing the booking sheets down on Stephanie’s desk, even as both Shane and Marissa stood up to make sure that Heyman didn’t do anything stupid.

“I’m not playing at anything. I’m simply building some anticipation for the crowd, but I will tell you that your mystery opponent is coming to us as a new acquisition from RAW. Which is why they are mystery opponents.” She replied with that signature McMahon glimmer in her eyes.

Heyman inhaled sharply, knowing that could be anyone at this point. The guys had been jumping back and forth between the two brands for the past few months. He couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of dread as why would she hide who it was if it wasn’t a huge acquisition? She had acted similarly back when she announced the Undertaker as the third opponent in the number one contender’s tournament. “So you are debuting Raw rejects against the WWE champion?” Paul asked in an insulted tone.

“What are you worried that it might be someone that even the ‘great’ Brock Lesnar might have trouble with?” She shot back. Though she quickly held up a hand to keep Heyman from retorting. “Look, your client and Mr Hardy should be able to hold their own just fine, otherwise I wouldn’t have booked the match. I have the people’s interests at heart here and this is one of the best main events I can give them this week!”

“Oh don’t pretend like you don’t have it out for my client! You’re just looking to humiliate him and I refuse to let you do it!” Heyman snapped.

Instantly Stephanie scowled as she stood up and leaned her hands on her desk. “As if you don’t have it in for the Undertaker! Or are you going to pretend that hiring Sara as Brock’s valet was anything other then you two being petty?” She challenged.

“Brock and Sara happen to be friends! Last time I checked, that wasn’t a crime! The world doesn’t revolve the Undertaker!” Heyman replied smugly.

Stephanie just gave him a flat stare, obviously not buying that weak excuse for Sara’s presence at Brock’s side. “Right, because Brock is such a warm and friendly person. Who wouldn’t want to be his friend?” She asked sarcastically, earning a scowl from Heyman. “Since you want to come into my office tossing accusations at me, then you can tell your client that he has you to thank for the mystery stipulation that will be added to your main event match tonight!”

Paul’s eyes widened at that announcement, though before he could get into Stephanie’s face. Shane stepped in front of him, cutting off his path. “You can leave now, Paul. The GM has said her peace.” Shane said, looking ready to remove Heyman from the office by force if necessary. 

Instinctively Heyman backed up. He knew Shane well enough to know that he could and he would kick his ass if given an excuse. Without another word, he turned around and stormed off, fuming over the exchange with the boss. The camera stayed focused on the McMahon siblings as Shane glanced over to his sister and she simply nodded in a silent ‘thank you’ to her brother for the intervention. Though the segment was cut there as Marissa tapped the cameraman on the shoulder from behind and gestured for him to leave.

xXx

During Taker’s match with Rob and Eddie, the crowd seemed to be genuinely enjoying the action between the three men. It wasn’t lost on the audience that it was one of the rare matches that had Taker and Eddie facing off. Something they hadn’t done since the six man tag match that happened the week after Taker had become the number one contender for the WWE title. Which had been over a month and a half ago. Despite the high risk maneuvers that Rob and Eddie were pulling off, Taker was holding his own against them. 

Though the crowd really got excited when Rob and Eddie spilled over the top rope and began brawling on the outside of the ring, only for the two men to be on the receiving end of the Undertaker diving over the top rope onto both of them. Once again reminding the audience how agile the big man could be. As the three men climbed back to their feet Eddie and Rob decided to double team on Taker as he was becoming the bigger threat in the match. Though Taker threw Eddie into the steel steps taking him down before turning around and getting nailed with a super kick. Rob quickly rolled into the ring to break the referee count and then rolled back out.

Taker shook his head as that kick to the chin had rung his bell. Though he had enough presence of mind to roll out of the way when Rob came flipping off the ring apron at him. Slowly Taker got back into the ring to catch his breath, not seeing the petite figure in a black hoodie climbing over the barrier as the referee started a count on Rob and Eddie on the outside of the ring. With the roar of the crowd, it was impossible for him to hear the unknown figure slide under the bottom rope behind him. Despite the commentators best efforts to warn Taker, the black clad figure hit him in the back of his knee with a lead pipe that sent the big man crashing down to the mat clutching his leg. Swiftly the figure rolled out the ring as the referee spun around in confusion. Eddie being ever the opportunist quickly climbed to the top turnbuckle and came off onto Taker with a frog splash pining the Phenom for the win, much to the surprise of the crowd.

As the referee raised Eddie’s hand in the air, signaling his huge victory over the Undertaker and Rob Van Dam. Slowly Taker sat up, still clutching at his knee as he looked toward the hooded figure on the ramp. His mystery assailant pulled her hood down to reveal that it was none other than Haley. While the crowd were lost on her significance to the Undertaker, he shot her a murderous gaze. She merely blew him a kiss before jumping off the ramp and running backstage through an entrance that the tech crew usually took instead of going through the Gorilla position.

“You okay, man?” Eddie asked, offering Taker a hand, hoping that the big man wouldn’t hold it against him that he took the opportunity to win the match.

Taker glanced up at Eddie and merely nodded as he grasped Eddie’s hand allowing the other man to help him to his feet. It was a known fact that Eddie was an opportunist, so he couldn’t fault him for going for the win. The crowd seemed pleased by the sportsmanship shown by all three men as Rob got back into the ring and ask what happened.

“Someone interfered in the match.” Eddie said with a shrug, glancing over to Taker for answers, since she seemed to know him.

Taker just sighed as he placed his hands on his hips. “Long story.” He replied, meaning he’d enlighten them when they weren’t in front of the crowd and cameras.

Rob just nodded his understanding as all three men exited the ring and began walking up the ramp. Though everyone could see that Taker was still limping after the shot to the leg he took.

xXx

“Oh that bitch.” Stephanie muttered, glaring at the monitor in her office.

“Who was that?” Marissa asked completely confused. Though Shane remained suspiciously silent as if he recognized the mystery woman.

“She’s an old fling that Heyman dug up from Mark’s past.” Stephanie replied, clearly annoyed with the appearance of the dark haired blue eyed ring rat. It was officially the first time she had seen the woman, but she couldn’t help but notice that Haley had a superficial resemblance to herself. Something that Mark neglected to mention to her when he spoke of the other woman to her. She had to wonder if he even realized that.

“You know looking at you, Jodi and this new woman, I’m beginning to think Mark has a type. Sara seems to be the exception.” Marissa said thoughtfully, before she smiled in amusement.

“Sara isn’t a natural blonde. She’s a brunette who bleaches her hair.” Stephanie told her sister-in-law, while looking over to Shane. “What’s on your mind, Shane?”

He sighed as he looked at his sister. “Steph, did he tell you he started messing around with that woman back during his Ministry days?” He asked, hoping Mark wasn’t keeping his sister in the dark on that information.

She nodded as he _had_ mentioned to her that particular detail. Though now that she was seeing the homewrecker, she was left wondering if he had been using the girl as a stand in for herself. A thought that made her frown as they didn’t speak much about the Ministry days. Especially not after that awkward moment where he had kissed her and then simultaneously rejected her. Despite that incident she had continued to work in the storyline, even though she hated the outcome as she lobbied hard for her and Shane to have been in cahoots instead of their dad being the higher power. That ultimate reveal had made no sense to her in the long run. However, she couldn’t have complained too much about it, since she and Hunter had ended up connecting, which at the time had caused a riff in the family when the paired had eloped. Their backstage relationship quickly becoming an onscreen relationship that many of the boys didn’t seem to appreciate. At least no one could say that she hadn’t tried to be more diplomatic with her relationship with Mark. It was Paul and Brock that put it front and center for everyone to see.

“So what are you going to do about this new interloper?” Marissa asked, noting the faraway look in Stephanie’s eyes signalling the other woman was deep in thought.

“If she shows her face during the main event, she’ll get the same thing Paul and Sara get.” Stephanie said sharply. She had already given the orders and she was certain they would be followed.

xXx

Despite the attack on Mark during his match, all the other matches seemed to go a lot better, though Eddie and Chavo interfering in Benoit and Angle’s match against Kidman and Cena had taken the audience by surprise. The inference didn’t quite work out as Benoit and Angle won despite their best efforts to help Cena and Kidman win instead. Admittedly Stephanie was impressed with how the tag team division was shaping up and she knew the main event would shake things up with the tag team division even further.

By the time Matt Hardy came out, followed by the WWE champion, Brock Lesnar, his agent Paul Heyman and Brock’s valet, Sara. Stephanie and her mystery team had made their way to the Gorilla position. Though she chose to go out on the ramp to address the crowd and the guys in the ring.

“I know you all have been wondering who the mystery team is for tonight’s _Tables_ match against Brock Lesnar and Matt Hardy. So I bring to you the newly reunited, _Dudley Boyz_!” She announced as she headed back into the entrance to the Gorilla position. The moment she was clear, the Dudleys’ pyrotechnics went off and their music started to blast through the house speakers. The crowd particularly roared their approval as Bubba Ray and D-Von came through the entrance.

Meanwhile in the ring Paul couldn’t believe his eyes. The Dudleys? The team that _he_ helped create and mold were working for Stephanie McMahon _again_. He couldn’t keep the irritated expression off of his face. Neither D-Von or Bubba Ray wasted any time running down the ramp and sliding under the bottom ropes to begin fighting with Matt and Brock. The crowd already chanting for tables as they were just so happy to see D-Von and Bubba Ray together again.

In Gorilla position, Stephanie sat by a monitor watching the action take place, when Shane walked up beside her. “Man the crowd is going nuts for the Dudleys. Did you manage to get Spike too?” He asked curiously.

Stephanie glanced up at her brother with an amused expression on her face, which said it all. Shane couldn’t help but laugh, since he knew Heyman was likely to go apeshit that his former team was siding with a McMahon again.

The action in the ring was going back and forth, though once Bubba Ray called for his brother, the crowd couldn’t help but shout along with him. “D-Von! Get the tables!” 

However as D-Von got out of the ring to start pulling a table out from underneath the ring apron, Haley, who was still an unknown to the crowd jumped over the barrier and hit D-Von square in the back with the pipe she used on Undertaker earlier. Though to the surprise of the crowd, Spike Dudley came over the barrier after her, grabbing the pipe out of her hands before she could hit his brother again. Roughly he shoved her down to the ground, but she just laughed maniacally as Brock had managed to get Bubba Ray onto his shoulders for an F-5 luckily it was just to the mat and not through a table. But it did take down the other Dudley for a few moments, giving Matt and Brock an opportunity to jump out of the ring and start beating on D-Von and Spike. The brawl on the outside leading to Spike getting hoisted onto Brock’s shoulders for an F-5 toward the ring post, but Spike hit Brock on the head with the pipe he was still holding. 

Heyman shouted at the referee completely pissed off over what was happening. Bubba Ray managed to roll out of the ring and pull out a table from the other side, quickly pushing it inside the ring before moving back in to set it up. Meanwhile Spike pulled the table out that D-Von had been going for and set that one up on the outside as D-Von continued to fight with Matt Hardy. Haley had moved to try and wake Brock back up after the hit he took to his head, only to find that the champ had been busted open. Roughly D-Von tossed Matt into the ring, getting ready to set him up for the 3D, but Heyman jumped on the apron shouting at the guys. Spike ran around the other side shoving Sara to the side as he pulled Heyman off the apron and decked him.

That was enough for D-Von to hoist Matt up in the air and Bubba Ray to give him the death drop right through the table, thus securing the win for their team. Spike slid yet another table into the ring before picking Heyman up and rolling him into the ring next. The crowd chanting ‘tables’ at the Dudleys quite ready to see them put Heyman through a table next. True to form, Heyman found himself being lifted up into the air, only to be driven through a table next. All three of the Dudleys turn their attention to Sara and Haley. Slowly Haley climbed to her feet as Sara made a break for it, only to find herself caught by Spike. 

Haley unlike Sara was far more capable of pulling off wrestling moves as she leaped onto the barrier and used it to catapult herself at Spike and Sara knocking the pair over. Quickly she moved to stand, while roughly pulling Sara to her feet, but suddenly both women found themselves being grabbed by D-Von and Bubba Ray respectively. Bubba Ray getting that glassy eyed stare that signaled that he was about to put one of those women if not both through a table. The crowd was in a frenzy over what they were about to see happen as Spike pushed another table into the ring as D-Von and Bubba Ray threw both women into the ring. Sara tried to run again, while Haley attempted to fight. 

The dark haired woman, slapping D-Von with all her might. The blow hard enough to bite into his bottom lip. The taste of his own blood seemingly setting him off as he grabbed her and suddenly powerbombed her over the top rope to the table that Spike had set up outside earlier. Half the crowd in utter shock over how brutal that move had been, while Spike held onto Sara as Bubba Ray climbed up on the top turnbuckle. D-Von took Sara from Spike’s grasp and lifted the protesting woman up into Bubba Ray’s waiting arms, who immediately put her through the table in the center of the ring. The Dudley Boyz music began blaring through the speakers as the three men surveyed the carnage with sadistic smiles on their faces.

Backstage Stephanie and Shane both laughed at what the trio had managed to pull off. “I knew they wouldn’t disappoint me.” She cackled as her brother gave her a high five.

“Way to go, sis.” He complimented, utterly impressed with how good she was getting at pulling off her schemes. If this didn’t send the message that no one should cross the boss, he didn’t know what would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just giving an FYI that I'm likely going to be doing some flashbacks of the past for Stephanie and Mark's relationship as well as what happened with Sara and some of this other conquests. As their past is really going to start affecting their present.


	8. Reminisce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Stephanie and Mark look back on the past and how it is affecting their present.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter breaks my normal tradition of ending with one of their televised events. However I promise that the next Smackdown will take place in the next chapter.

The drive between Providence, Rhode Island and Hartford, Connecticut wasn't necessarily a long one, but given the fact that Mark had wrestled earlier in the night at the Backlash pay per view, she could see why he would be exhausted. The only reason why they were even sharing a car was because he had technically 'kidnapped' her at the end of the show. For the sake of appearances she had offered to travel with him. Thus she found herself driving a black SUV, while Mark slept soundly in the passenger side seat. He had drifted off to sleep in the middle of their conversation, but she hadn't the heart to wake him up. Opting to just let him rest, while he could. As she drove them down the interstate highway, she couldn't help glancing over at him, every so often resisting the urge to reach out and touch his face.

While she had to pretend to be scared of him on television, she found it hard to do so while in his actual presence. Especially when the butterflies would start fluttering around in her belly. She couldn't really explain it, she'd known the man for years. However after she had come back from Boston University, things between them seem to be changing. The way he would stare at her, when he thought she wasn't looking would send shivers down her spine. While she did have a boyfriend, she didn't feel the relationship was going anywhere. She honestly couldn't see herself being with the guy in the long term. He was nice enough, but he wasn't exactly that thrilling in the bedroom and they didn't really have that much in common outside of their liking of sports. However he wasn't really a wrestling fan and she felt that in itself would be the deal breaker.

Once again she caught herself stealing a glance at Mark's sleeping form, part of her wondering what it would feel like to kiss him and run her fingers through his hair. She bet he was likely anything but boring in the bedroom. For a moment, her mind got too caught up in her fantasies that she needed to shift in her seat as she felt herself growing damp from the vivid images in her mind. It was absolutely criminal how much she wanted to fuck Mark Calaway senseless. However she was a McMahon, not some ring rat. She didn't have the luxury of throwing herself at any of the guys, because her father would lose his mind and ban her from attending anymore of the shows. No matter how old she got, she doubted her father would ever be okay with her dating a wrestler, even if it happened to be one of his favorite workers.

By the time they made it into Hartford, she had to let out a small sigh of relief. Lightly she placed a hand on Mark's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Hey you, time to wake up." She said softly trying not to startle him with any sudden movements. After a moment, he began to stir, his eyelids fluttering open to show her, his confused green eyed gaze. Instinctively she bit down on her bottom lip to keep herself from sighing at how cute he looked at that moment.

Slowly he pushed himself more upright in his seat as he glanced over to her, awareness beginning to dawn in his eyes now. He vaguely remembered them talking about something before everything just went black. "Sorry, guess I was more tired than I thought." He said, taking in the sight of her beautiful face. If she had been any other woman, he might have taken a chance and tried to make a move on her. But she wasn't any other woman, she was the boss' daughter. His boss' daughter. Merely lusting after her from afar was pushing the boundaries of his good senses. It was one thing for his character to have lecherous thoughts of her, but quite another for him as a person behind the character to harbor impure thoughts about her.

"It's okay, you had a long day. I figured you could use the extra rest." She replied with a warm smile.

He simply chuckled as she wasn't wrong about that. "Some kidnapper I am, letting my abductee drive the getaway car." He joked, causing her to giggle in amusement.

"Guess it's lucky for you that we don't have to check in to the hotel, so no one will see us breaking character at the front desk." She smirked, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Yeah, it was a good idea to check in a day early in Hartford and just drive to Providence." He agreed, but not because of the chance of anyone seeing them breaking character, but because he didn't want to wait at a front desk. He just wanted to take a long hot shower and then crawl into a soft bed for the rest of the night. Suddenly he found himself staring at her again, his eyes taking her in. From the big blue eyes and beautifully full lips, he noted her sweater was hanging open revealing the low-cut camisole she wore underneath. He resisted the urge to reach out and touch her creamy flawless skin. A part of him wondered how she would react if he put his hand on her bare knee, but he kept his hands to himself.

After what seemed like forever to his lust hazed mind, they pulled into the parking garage of the hotel. As they moved to get out of the car, his eyes caught sight of her skirt falling back enough for him to see to black bikini underwear she wore underneath said skirt. Immediately he bit back a groan, hoping to get to his room for a cold shower to help get his raging libido under control. She opened the hatch of the SUV and he pulled their bags out, her carry on significantly smaller than his own bag.

"Thank you, Mark." She said as she grabbed the handle of her carry on bag, he merely nodded in return. They both stretched out their arms and back a little more after being seated in the vehicle for almost two hours. Finally they made their way inside toward the elevators leading to the hotel rooms. Quietly they stood there waiting for any one of the elevators to open, while stealing glances at each other. During the short wait, Stephanie shrugged off her sweater and took off her hair band, quickly running her fingers through her hair, releasing some of the tension that had built up around her forehead and temples. She really hated the clothes she got saddled with for the angle. They were doing everything in their power to make her look like a little girl rather than a grown woman. If she had known that dressing like a nun was part of the storyline, she might have declined after all.

All the while he was struggling with containing himself as she had no idea how much he just wanted to kiss the lip gloss off her face. Finally the elevator doors opened. He almost let out an audible sigh of relief, before realizing that he would have to be alone with her in the elevator for the ride to their floor. "After you." He said, gesturing for her to go inside first.

"Thanks." She smiled, walking inside the elevator, dragging her carry on behind her. She could feel him following her in, wondering if it was just her imagination that he was staring a hole into her back. Once they were settled in and the doors shut, he hit the button for the floor they were staying on.

"Hey." He said simply, the moment she glanced up at him, he impulsively leaned in to kiss her. She squeaked in surprise, but immediately yielded to him. She practically melted into his embrace as he wrapped one arm around her waist, while his other hand grabbed the back of her head. Instinctively he flicked his tongue across her lips and she gasped in response, allowing his tongue entry into her mouth to rub against hers. Her hands grasped his shoulders pulling him closer still. Suddenly she found her back pressed against the wall as he pushed his body into hers. She practically purred in delight, relishing in the feel of his hard body pressing into her soft curves. However the bell signaling the approach of their floor, broke the moment. Without warning he pulled away from her, looking absolutely frazzled by what had just happened.

"Mark?" She whispered in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." He apologized. Though before she could respond, the doors opened and he quickly hightailed it out of the elevator as if something was on fire.

Slowly she stepped out of the elevator as she tried to wrap her brain around what had just happened. For the longest time, she had imagined what it would feel like to kiss Mark and it had exceeded her expectations. Too bad, the whole encounter had ended with him rejecting her. She didn't even know what she had done to scare him off. Absentmindedly, she swiped the card key to her room and stepped inside, locking the door behind her. It wasn't every day that a guy she fantasized about made a move on her only to renege said move. She couldn't help but feel disappointed over the situation. As she took her shower to clear her head, that disappointment began to turn to anger. Why in the world did he get her hopes up, if he was just going to dash her dreams?

Finally she laid down to get some sleep, her head nestling into the pillow as she resolved to give up any delusions that she could have any sort of relationship with Mark Calaway. Clearly he was a lost cause that she should keep at arm's length from that moment on.

Meanwhile Mark cursed and chastised himself for his lack of self-control. The move in the elevator had been the stupidest thing he ever could have done. As badly as he wanted to fuck Stephanie, he never should have tried to act on his impulse. She wasn't some ring rat or stripper. She was the boss' daughter and likely one day, she would be the boss herself. After a cold shower to calm his body down, he changed into his sweats and tried to get some sleep. Though his mind was still full of thoughts of Stephanie and how she was going to act when they had to head to the arena for Raw. At least if everything went to plan tomorrow, it would be the last time, they would be working closely together. Then he wouldn't have to concern himself with her anymore as the storyline took a different turn.

xXx

Stephanie couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she and Mark laid in bed together, discussing the elevator incident for the first time, since it had happened all those years ago. "Wow, we were both pretty dumb there." She chuckled. They always did say that hindsight is 20/20, but she couldn't help wondering how things would have turned out overall, if they had both been more honest with themselves back then.

"Well to be fair, I really don't think your parents would have been as open to us four years ago as they are now." He replied, dropping a kiss to the top of her hair. Though he had to admit to himself that maybe he wouldn't have as many skeletons in his closet if he had taken a chance on courting Stephanie back in 1999.

"True, but they weren't really on board with Hunter back then and he eventually grew on them. So I think they would have accepted it eventually." She said, turning over to lean on his chest, propping her head up with the top of her hand. "You know, I think we both needed the time and failed relationships to see what we have is special." She admitted, it was hard to regret their past mistakes, when she thought of it in terms of realizing he was the one for her. She just didn't know if she would have gotten that Mark was the love of her life, four years ago. While she wasn't as inexperienced as they portrayed her to the audience back then, her experiences over the past four years had done wonders to help change her perspective on things.

"Yeah, I think you're right." He replied, rubbing his hand over her bare shoulder. "Though I still worry that I'm going to fuck things up, but I love you so much." He whispered, his mind drifting off to the moment he thought she was ending things with him. The very idea of losing her had felt like he was drowning. Besides his marriages he had fucked up many relationships with women over the years, he had even scared some of the ladies he considered friends away. So he couldn't help occasionally worrying over messing things up with Stephanie.

Gently she rubbed her hands over his chest and shoulder. "I love you too. We just got to keep remembering that, when people are scheming against us." She said flatly. While he worried about fucking things up with her, she worried that one day she might drive him away. She had driven Hunter away after all, she could vividly remember how they started to grow apart after his injury. It was one of the reasons why him 'needing space' had been so triggering to her. She never wanted to feel that way in a relationship ever again.

"Steph?" He questioned, noting the faraway look in her eye after she spoke, wondering what was on her mind. "What's wrong?" He asked, lightly tracing a finger over her shoulder blade in lazy circles.

"I worry too babe. When you ran off to Texas while things were strained with us, I was beginning to think I had already chased you away." She confessed, while she didn't want to break up with him over that, if he hadn't shown any sort of concern. She likely would have walked away. Her break up with Hunter had been damn near soul crushing, even if she chose to hide behind anger and vindictiveness at the time. She never wanted to go through that again, especially now that she had two other people depending on her for their very lives.

He brought his other hand up to cup her cheek as he gazed down into her endless blue eyes, that some times reminded him of the depths of the ocean. "Sweetheart, I can never apologize enough for that. I was being selfish, it never even occurred to me that you would think I was running away from you." He admitted, before pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I meant what I said, I _can't_ lose you." He whispered, he wasn't necessarily a dramatic person outside of his on-screen persona. However, he just couldn't see how he would ever bounce back, if he lost her. Especially if he lost her because of his own stupidity. Slowly he moved his hand down to gently caress over the swell of her belly, where their children were growing inside her. "And I can't lose them either." He added softly, before pressing another kiss to her lips.

Her eyes glisten with forming tears as she gazed into his green eyes that held such sincerity, warmth and love for her. When he looked at her like that, the feelings he gave her were indescribable. No other man had ever made her feel that way. How could she not consider this man to be the love of her life? She was certain that the emotional baggage they both carried was the reason they were able to connect when they did. "Well remember that the next time you get pissed off at me for keeping a work secret from you." She replied, playfully.

He found himself chuckling at her words, while pressing his forehead against hers. "I'm not going to stop hating when you do that, but I won't leave you because of it." He replied back, pressing a playful kiss to her jawline as his fingers grazed over the spot on her hip that he knew was ticklish. Before she could retort, she let out a small shriek, quickly grabbing his hand to stop him from tickling her further.

"Mark!" She laughed out loud, squirming out of his grasp enough to push him onto his back. Quickly she straddled his hips, causing him to let out a groan as he gazed up at her with a deep longing. Even with the changes happening to her body, he still made her feel like the sexiest woman he had ever laid eyes on and she loved him for it. Instinctively he brought his hands up to grasp her hips again. She leaned over him, letting her long brown hair fall around them like a curtain as she kissed him passionately. His hands rubbed over her back as they plundered each other's mouths, their tongues vying for dominance.

Though as they were getting carried away into the moment, her cell phone began ringing upon the charger on the nightstand. She slightly pulled back from his lips, but stubbornly he wouldn't release his grasp on her. "Let it go to voicemail." He whispered huskily as he didn't want to let the outside world disturb them at the moment.

"Baby, it is pretty early in the morning. They wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important." She whispered against his lips. Suddenly her phone stopped ringing and his cell phone began ringing instead. Finally he released his grip on her as he let out a frustrated sigh. She grabbed his phone off the charger and answered it without checking the display. "Hello."

"Heeeey." Came her brother's strained voice, definitely sounding as though he had some news that she and Mark might not like hearing.

"What's up, Shane?" Stephanie questioned, her back stiffening as she braced herself for whatever news he had to give her.

"It looks like Haley Diaz's information has leaked to the dirt sheets online. The public relations department are already getting questions about her and Mark's relationship from mainstream media sources." He said, sounding pained to even have to bring that news to her. "I didn't want you to get blindsided at the airport with this, so I figured I would tell you guys now."

Stephanie took a deep breath before allowing herself to speak. "This is probably their retaliation for what happened on Smackdown." She said flatly, while she moved off of Mark to sit beside him. He sat upright and waited for her to fill him in on what was going on. "Is there anyway to spin this in our favor?"

"I don't know yet. Given Mark's character we could probably play with that aspect, but they are still going to bother him about it. He's just well known enough to get the unwanted attention." Shane admitted, clearly unsure of how to approach the story just yet. "Are you coming back to Connecticut or going to Texas?" He asked.

"Connecticut. We can brainstorm when I get there." She said flatly.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours then." He replied, hanging up the phone.

She simply sighed as she ended the call and tossed the phone back on the nightstand. "I'm sorry babe, but your ring rat has leaked her story to the dirt sheets and it is starting to spread to mainstream sources."

"I knew I should have just strangled that bitch out." He instantly muttered, rubbing his hands over his face in frustration. She leaned in to press a kiss to his temple in an effort to comfort him.

"Look, if anyone questions you, don't give them any answers. I'll get with our lawyers and see if there is any legal recourse we can take." She said simply, going into full boss mode as they were faced with yet another obstacle.

"Did he say how much she revealed?" Mark asked, while very much wanting to find her and finish the job the Dudleys started on Smackdown.

"No, he didn't say." She sighed, not even sure if she wanted to know exactly what the little bitch was sharing exactly. She made a move to get up but Mark caught her by the wrist. Instantly she turned to look at him. Her expression immediately softened as he looked absolutely devastated over what was happening.

"I'm sorry, Steph. I know I told you a couple of stories about some of the things I did with her, but I hope you don't think less of me, if she starts giving _all_ the dirty details." He sighed, his eyes beginning to glisten. He honestly wasn't proud of the things he had been into and the way he used the various women that threw themselves at him in the past. Especially now that he had found the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"Nobody is perfect, Mark." She murmured, leaning her forehead against his. "For better or for worse, it's you and me, babe." She added, kissing him again. It didn't take long for things to get heated between them once more as he fully pulled her back into his lap. Once again she found herself straddling him as their need for each other only intensified as their lips remained locked together. Neither seemingly willing to back away from the other, not even for air as they practically shared the same breath. They only broke apart when they were absolutely forced to come up for air, both gasping and panting heavily for air as they gazed into each other's eyes.

Playfully he nipped at her jaw, before burying his face against the side of her neck, his goatee brushing against her skin. "I need you so much it hurts." He pleaded, his lips brushing against the shell of her ear. He could feel her body shiver in his grasp, a breathless moan escaping her lips.

"I need you too." She murmured, lifting her hips enough to allow him to position himself against her entrance. Slowly their bodies connected as she pushed her hips downward, while her arms wrapped around his neck and their eyes locked. They both let out groans of pleasure as they felt enveloped in the warmth of each other. They chose to continue focusing on one another before they had to get ready to face the world. Even though there was a storm of trouble brewing outside their door, they were committed to weathering through it together.

xXx

It was April of 1999 and the stalking of Stephanie McMahon storyline was in full gear. While on screen they didn't have much contact, there had been several meetings with creative that he was forced to sit across from her. It was in those moments that he found it hard to maintain his professional facade as Stephanie wasn't the same young girl that Vince had introduced him too back when he first started working for the Federation. No, she had grown up. He never would have predicted that she would end up becoming such a beauty. While wardrobe did everything in their power to make her look like a young innocent girl, all he could see was the real woman underneath the school girl clothes. It left him feeling frustrated in ways that he hadn't felt before.

Thus he took every opportunity to hang out with the boys, hitting the bar scene in the towns they worked in for their live events. It was during one of those night excursions that he found himself knocking back whiskies with the guys. The place they had chosen was loud with the many voices overlapping each other, while the jukebox played. There were people dancing, laughing and of course drinking like fish. Yet as he was surrounded by this chaos, he was off in his own world. Then he happened to glance up toward the pool tables and that's when he spotted her. His gaze immediately zeroing in on a petite yet quite shapely woman with long wavy dark brown hair and big expressive blue eyes. She exuded confidence as she sashayed around the pool table dominating her opponents with a skill that seemingly baffled the men who dared to challenge her to a game.

Something about her demanded his attention, perhaps it was the way her denim shorts hugged her hips and tightened around her perfectly rounded ass, while she leaned over to line up her shot. He couldn't help noticing the tone musculature of her legs, despite being a short woman her legs were easily one of her best features. Like a professional pool shark, she sunk the one shot and moved around the table to line up for another shot. Once she leaned forward, the new view he got of her was that of her ample cleavage being pushed up by the black bra she wore underneath the spaghetti strap tank top that lightly clung to her torso. It was as she made her shot, that suddenly she lifted her eyes and they locked gazes. He was completely unabashed to be caught staring at her and she only seemed to be amused by his boldness. A mischievous smirk found her face before she gave him a wink. That was it. He could no longer resist getting up and going over to her. Any of the guys surrounding her could have been her boyfriend in that moment, but Mark didn't give a damn. His mind entirely focused on the woman.

As he approached the table, she stood up straight, her blue eyes seemingly drinking him in. She glanced over to the guys, simply holding out a hand toward them as she had sunk her last shot, thus winning the game. Both men grumbled under their breath as they slapped their money into her hand. "It's been nice doing business with you boys, but I think I have other business to attend too." She said dismissively.

It was as Mark appeared at the table, that both men thought better of protesting. They tossed their cues on the table and shot glares at Mark before taking off into the crowd of people in the bar. "Care to play a game?" She asked playfully, entirely uncaring of the men and their childish antics. It seemed she didn't suffer fools or little boys, which made her that much more appealing to him.

"8-ball?" He asked, picking up one of the cues.

"Sounds good." She replied, picking up the other discarded cue and moving to place it back on the wall rack. Gracefully she turned back around to see Mark setting the pool balls into the pool rack on the table. "Care to make this game a little more interesting?" She asked, rubbing her thumb and two fingers together making the sign for cash.

"You haven't even seen me play yet and you're gonna try and hustle me?" He quipped, looking quite amused.

"What's the matter, afraid you might lose?" She boldly teased. He merely smirked, a mischievous glint forming in his eyes as he moved around the table behind her. Anyone else would have felt discomforted by the move, especially as he towered over her, but she didn't seem to be intimidated in the least.

"What if we made things a little more interesting?" He challenged, causing her to spin around and lean against the pool table.

"And what does the _big bad Undertaker_ have in mind?" She retorted, catching him off guard as he hadn't quite expected her to recognize him. She laughed as she noticed the slight shock registering on his face. "I know I don't exactly look the type, but I _was_ at the show tonight." She added, her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Suddenly he leaned forward, blocking her in as his arms leaned on the table on either side of her. The difference in their sizes was even more evident as he stood so close to her. However, she didn't seem to show any signs of nervousness as if she could care less that he was a wrestler she had just seen performed earlier in the night. "If you win, I'll fork over the cash, but if I win you spend some _quality time_ with me." He propositioned, not even trying to hide the lecherous grin on his face.

"You must be _really_ horny, if this is your pitch to get me into the sack." She replied with a trace of sarcasm in her tone, sounding unimpressed with him. Though her body language was still open to him. "I'm a bit disappointed. You could at least offer to buy a girl a drink." She added coyly.

He stood up straight, crossing his arms over his chest as a low chuckle rumbled through his chest. While her voice was saying one thing, the look in her eyes was saying another. "Name your poison." He said coolly, unfazed by her rebuff.

"A beer's fine." She replied, continuing to lean against the pool table as he walked over to the bar to fill her drink request. Her eyes wandering over his retreating back before firmly landing on his rear end. She smiled in appreciation as the jeans he wore clung to his ass and the muscles on his legs. He was definitely a tall drink of water, she wouldn't mind quenching her thirst with at some point.

Despite her bravado, he knew she'd give into him, so he wasn't surprised when they ended up in a heated make out session as they made their way back to his hotel room. She wouldn't let up, kissing him hard and demanding even as they spilled through the door of his room and nearly landed on the floor. It wasn't until he had her back pinned against the wall, forcing her arms above her head that he was able to pull away from her lips. She panted heavily as she looked up at him with sheer hunger. He held her wrists tightly with one hand, while the other explored her curves. She let out a breathlessly sensual chuckle as she gazed up at him, looking ever so defiant.

"Woman, you make me want to punish you every time you give me one of those insolent little stares of yours." He whispered with another chuckle rumbling through his chest.

"Well you _are_ the Lord of Darkness. I'd be disappointed if you didn't want to punish me." She replied, her blue eyes darkening. "I bet you can make it hurt so good." She whispered wantonly, giving him a free pass to do as he liked. Instantly he released his grip on wrists in favor of grabbing the back of her hair, roughly he pulled her into his chest as he yanked her head back and once again kissed her, his tongue demanding entry which she eagerly allowed. Both their breathes reeked of liquor, yet neither seemed to care as they explored and plundered the recesses each other's mouths. Once they broke the kiss, while trying to catch their breath. Mark looked into her eyes, his grip still tight on her hair as her hands remained on his hips.

"Tell me what you want, _papi_." She whispered, a hint of an accent peeking through on that last word.

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Papi?" He questioned amused. He knew what it meant, but he wondered why she chose to use it.

"I can call you, _Daddy_ , if you'd like that better." Her voice becoming even more sensual as she replied.

His chest rumbled again as he found himself chuckling, slowly he brought his other hand up to clutch her throat. "Baby girl, I'd like it better if you called me, _Master_." He replied, applying pressure to her windpipe. She let out a small gasp, but her eyes remained calm as she seemed to trust that he wouldn't actually hurt her beyond her limits.

"Whatever you say, _Master_." She panted out, easily acquiescing to his demand. In response he released the pressure on her throat.

Suddenly he released his hold on her and pulled her tank top over her head, tossing the garment aside. The full sight of the bra she wore, sent shockwaves to his groin. Easily he released the clasp on her bra and pushed the undergarment off her shoulders to reveal her beautifully shaped breasts to his hungry gaze. Roughly he grabbed her by the back of her neck again as he backed up toward the bed, forcing her to fall in step with him. Finally he took a seat on the edge of the bed, while forcing her down to her knees. "It's about time, you show me what other uses that mouth of yours has." He demanded, releasing the grip on her neck.

"As my master commands." She replied, gazing up at him with another mischievous expression. Without another word, she reached out to unbuckle his belt and get down to business. In that one night, Haley Diaz made quite an impression on one Mark Calaway. Little did he realize that she would eventually end up becoming a thorn in his side long after she wore out her welcome in his bed.

xXx

This was a nightmare, there was no other way for him to see it. Despite being a fairly high profile superstar in the WWE, Mark never really put himself out there as any sort of celebrity. Generally he kept his private life, private and with great reason. He lived out on a ranch in Texas and his fiancée had a large house in a quiet upscale neighborhood in Greenwich, Connecticut. Nothing about their shared existence invited scrutiny from the press. So all the sudden interest in who he had been fucking before he got engaged to Stephanie was really messing with his head. Especially when he had to sit in a meeting with Vince, Stephanie, Shane and several members of public relations and human resources as well as two of WWE's top attorneys. All of them talking about him as if he weren't in the room.

Granted, every so often Stephanie would acknowledge him, by placing a hand on his arm as they sat beside each other. He'd glance over to her, to see a sympathetic look on her face. It did help soften his disposition, but the reprieve was only short lived as his mood just grew that much more darker. Somewhere along the conversation, he had tuned out, rubbing his hand over his forehead as he wanted to be anywhere but where he currently was.

"I don't know about you gentlemen, but I could use a break." Stephanie said, rubbing a hand over her baby bump that was growing ever more visible even in the pants suits she wore.

"Of course, let's break for lunch and then we can meet back here in an hour." Vince replied, noting the tired expression on his daughter's face. Though he suspected she made the suggestion more for Mark than herself. However he couldn't help but be amused at the way she non-verbally manipulated the rest of the individuals in the room by subtly pointing out her pregnancy. Given the situation going on with her fiancé, she seemed to be taking it in stride. Which indicated to him that Mark had been upfront with Stephanie about his past exploits. It helped assure him that he was doing the right thing in helping to squash the situation before it got even more out of hand.

Silently he watched as Mark helped Stephanie to her feet and the pair walked out of the room first. As the others got up to leave, Shane remained seated waiting to speak to his father on his own. Once they were alone, Vince glanced over to his son with a questioning look.

"What if we track this woman down and offer her an actual contract with the company?" Shane asked, earning an instant frown from his dad.

"Why would we do that?" Vince asked almost scowling.

"Hear me out, I had Marissa push the investigators to dig up more information on this girl after I saw the way she jumped off the barrier on to Spike Dudley on Smackdown. It occurred to me that she might be an actual trained wrestler rather than just a groupie." Shane explained as he finally opened the one file that he had hidden under his paperwork. He pulled out a few pictures of the woman in question in a wrestling ring that looked situated in a high school gym of some sort. "She's been an indy wrestler for the past two years. This could be our chance to lure her in and re-spin the story as a work."

Vince sighed as it wasn't a bad idea for the damage control it gave them, but he honestly doubted that Stephanie or Mark for that matter would want to work with the woman after this stunt she pulled. "Shane for this to work, we would need both Stephanie and Mark's cooperation and I don't think either would give it."

"If I can get them on board with the idea, would you consider it?" Shane asked, putting the pictures back into the file before shutting it.

"Yes, I will consider it, if you can get both of them to agree to the idea. But remember there is no guarantee that the young woman will accept an offer from us." He replied as he watched Shane climb to his feet to head out of the meeting room.

xXx

Upon leaving the meeting room, Shane pulled out his cell and called Stephanie to check if she were still in the building or not. He too had seen how agitated Mark was growing as the meeting with damage control went on, so he couldn't exactly blame Stephanie for wanting to get some air for the big man.

"What's up, Shane?" Came his sister's voice.

"I need to talk with you and Mark. Are you guys still in the building?"

"Yeah, we're in my office, but we were about to leave to get some air." She replied, sounding a bit on the wary side of her brother.

"Please don't leave yet, I really need to speak to you guys in private." He pleaded as he made his way to the elevator to head to the floor where her office was situated.

"Alright, we'll be here, but make it quick Shane. He really needs to get out of the building for a little while." She sighed. Shane could easily picture his sister pushing her hair out of her face, which brought a sad smile to his face. The last thing she needed was to be stressing but the Heyman and Lesnar camp were refusing to take it easy on her.

"Got it, see you in a couple of minutes." He replied, before hanging up his phone. It didn't take him long to reach her office, lightly he knocked as her secretary looked to be on a break and was away from her desk.

"Come in, Shane." Stephanie called out.

As prompted he walked in to find his sister and soon to be brother-in-law seated on the couch in her office. Mark looked seriously irritated, while Stephanie gently rubbed his shoulders and neck, trying to ease some of the tension that had built up over the last couple of hours.

"Sorry to bug you guys, but I got some news." Shane said, dropping the file on Haley from the investigator on the coffee table in front of the pair.

Stephanie leaned forward, picking up the file and placing onto Mark's lap as she opened it. They were both greeted by the pictures of Haley obviously in a wrestling ring. Instantly they both frowned as Mark picked up one of the pictures.

"This fucking bitch." He muttered in disbelief, before a sudden realization hit him. "This must be how Heyman found her." He snapped, sitting up in a huff. However Stephanie kept her grip on his shoulders, slightly shushing him, so that Shane could continue.

"Come on, babe. Let him finish." She whispered, soothingly.

"I figured she never told you that she started wrestling. I had Marissa push the investigators to check her out after that stunt she pulled on Smackdown with catapulting off the barrier. From what they dug up, it has only been in the past two years of the four that you have known her." Shane explained again, though he was cut off when Mark glared up at him.

"Yeah and?" Mark snapped impatiently.

"Look, you're probably going to hate me for suggesting this, but if she's a wrestler than that means she has to have some respect for kayfabe."

Both Mark and Stephanie stiffened as they knew exactly where Shane was going with this line of thought. Quickly Stephanie tightened her grip on Mark, who looked like he was about to explode. "Are you fucking kidding me right now?! That bitch is dragging me through the mud and you want to hire her? Is that it?"

"Mark, this is sports entertainment! My dad has likened it to soap operas for men for the longest time now. If she's under contract, we can present it as part of the story. That will make it less enticing to the mainstream media. Once we get this mess cleaned up, we can ship her ass over to the RAW brand for Bischoff to do as he pleases with her." Shane argued.

"Okay but what if that was her endgame in the first place? Then we would be giving her exactly what she wanted all along!" Mark argued back.

Stephanie merely listened to both men, the cogs in her own mind spinning as she thought over what would be a good course of action. What Shane said made sense, but Mark was making perfect sense too. "Do you think we could entrap her with an offer of a job? If we can prove that she was only looking for a foot in the door, then we can discredited her story. That's really our end goal anyway." Stephanie finally chimed in.

Shane and Mark both looked at her in mild surprise as that wasn't a bad idea at all. It would definitely give them leverage if they could get Haley to tip her hand. The girl was determined, they could easily see that, but neither Shane or Stephanie were prepared to be outsmarted by some indy upstart with a past history of throwing herself at wrestlers. There was no way either of them would let their family get dragged down, because someone didn't know her place.


	9. All Out War or a Truce?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is Brock beginning to have a change of heart? Or is it just a small blip of emotion?

She couldn’t say she liked this change she had been seeing as she watched her fiancé rise to champion status of the WWE in record time. Over a matter of months, the man she knew to be humble and dedicated had grown cocky and cruel. While he wasn’t cruel to her, she saw the way he treated his opponents. While he always tried to assure her that he was just playing a part, she wasn’t so sure that was the case anymore. She really did not like the influence his agent had on him and the thoughts he put into her future husband’s head. Any time she tried to approach the topic with Brock though, he would brush her off and say she was worrying over nothing.

However, watching the past Smackdown had been enough to convince her, she had been worrying over something after all. It wasn’t right. There was no reason for either of those women to be by Brock’s side, but she knew they were both there to play mind games with his main rival, the Undertaker. She hadn’t a clue who one of the women were but she recognized Taker’s ex-wife the moment she appeared by Brock’s side. Now both women had been brutally attacked and the blame could be squarely placed on her fiancé’s shoulders. He allowed them to be brought in by his agent. She honestly couldn’t stop the feeling of disgust she felt over the situation. A part of her wanted to contact, the Undertaker and Stephanie McMahon and apologize to them both on Brock’s behalf. Even though she knew it wouldn’t go over well with Brock himself, she didn’t really care.

If she hadn’t been on bed rest for the last month and a half of her pregnancy, she would have confronted Brock herself. But as it were, she was in no condition to be arguing with anyone. Her doctor warned her against the stress as it would only spike her blood pressure, which would put her babies at risk. Idly she rubbed a hand over her swollen belly as she could feel her babies shifting and stretching inside her. The little ones definitely getting restless with being cramped inside her belly. “It’s okay, my loves. It won’t be much longer.” She cooed, hoping to calm down their movements some.

Her thoughts were broken by the sounds of the phone ringing. She leaned over to the nightstand to snatch up the receiver. “Hello.”

“Hey honey, how are doing?” Brock asked, using an overly sweet tone that he would only use when he was trying to defuse an argument before it could happen. She couldn't help but roll her eyes, when he pulled stunts like that. She loved the man dearly, but there were days she wanted to hit him.

“I’m fine. How are _you_ doing, Brock?” She asked dryly. Allowing him to hear the lack of amusement in her tone.

He audibly sighed and she rolled her eyes again. “I take it you saw Smackdown.” Definitely a statement, not a question.

“Yeah, I saw it. Really Brock, this whole thing is getting out of hand. You got hit with a pipe, your valets and agent got put through tables. Are all these dirty tactics really worth all the carnage they are causing?” She questioned, trying to keep her temper under control for the sake of her children.

“You don’t understand. This business is cutthroat. You have to be willing to do anything to stay at the top.” He lectured as though she had no understanding of wrestling at all. It wasn't like she had ever competed in mixed martial arts competitions or done shootfighting or anything like that. She thought dryly.

“What in the world does the Undertaker’s love life have to do with you staying at the top? I don’t get why you are being _this_ ruthless with him. You’ve always been a man of action and from what I have seen, you can take him without the dirty tactics!” She snapped, she hated when he patronized her, especially since she had been a fan of professional wrestling _before_ she had ever met him. If Brock hadn’t been so adamant about her staying away, she would have gone to his pay per view appearances at the least. However, no one he worked with outside of his agent even knew who she was to Brock Lesnar. If she hadn’t known how private Brock like to keep his life away from professional wrestling, she would have been offended that he hadn’t introduced her to his co-workers.

He sighed heavily on his side of the phone. Definitely a deflated sound, so she knew that she had struck a chord and he was trying to consider his rebuttal to her argument. “Babe, I don’t really know that _I can_ take him. Yeah, I’m in my prime, but that man doesn’t really miss a beat. This is probably the best he has ever been in his career.” He finally confessed, given his tone she could tell he hated to admit that he was worried.

“Honey, is there really any shame in losing to the Undertaker? He’s the goddamn Undertaker! The man is damn near a legend at this point. Though honestly I think you are letting your fear get the better of you. You are just as phenomenal as he is and I know one day you will be a legend too.” She said firmly, her voice full of conviction, giving no doubt that she believed every word she told him. “Babe, please. Just _consider_ dropping the dirty tactics and facing the man head on. I want Mya Lynn and Luke to be able to look at tapes of your work in the WWE and be proud of you.” She added, her voice softening as she spoke of their babies’ names.

He was silent for a long moment, but she knew he was still on the line as she could hear him breathing. “I’m in too deep, Nicole. Even if I wanted to back off, there is no way that Taker would forgive everything I’ve done so far…” Brock sighed, trailing off.

“You two are tagging together again this upcoming Smackdown, right?” She asked.

“Yeah, why?” He replied simply.

“Well, go out there with him without Heyman or those women and actually cooperate with him as a _team_. That will be your sign if you two can call a truce, even if it is only temporary. Can you do that for me, Brock?” 

“Sweetheart, I’ll try for you and the kids.” He replied in earnest. “But I can’t make any promises.” He added, as he knew if Taker snapped on him, he would snap right back.

“All I ask is you try, just try.” She whispered, hoping that he would follow through on her request, because frankly she was getting tired of him harassing another pregnant woman, while throwing his opponent’s exes in her face. If the situation were reversed, she was certain that she would have snapped already. The last thing she wanted to see was Stephanie McMahon go down to stress related complications in her pregnancy because of what Paul Heyman and Brock had been doing to her and Taker. It just wasn’t right.

“Okay, babe. I will try.” He said, his tone softening for her, so she knew he meant what he said.

xXx

Sara could remember the first time she had laid eyes on the woman who would ultimately ruin her marriage to Mark. It had been just as she had started appearing on televised events as things with Page had started to get out of hand. The man hadn’t really had an interest in her, but he had been encouraged by the powers that be in the WWE to stalk and menace her anyway. More than once, he had offered her apologies, letting her know that it wasn’t actually personal on his part, simply business. While she had tried to relay that message to Mark, he wasn’t exactly impressed with the man for stooping so low for the ‘business’. At the time, Sara hadn’t the heart to point out the stuff he had done for the business wasn’t all that better.

However that conversation hadn’t gotten so far as she noted Mark becoming distracted as he kept glancing over to the bar, where a woman she had never seen before was speaking to several of the wrestlers. Instantly she felt herself scowl, wondering why he was looking at another woman while she was sitting right beside him.

“Oh I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” She asked a bit sarcastically.

Mark had immediately sighed, glancing over to her with a tired expression. “Sweetheart, don’t start. It’s not what you think.” He insisted, pushing his hair out of his face as he leaned back in his chair.

“Enlighten me, Mark. Why are you staring at another woman?” She pressed refusing to let him brush off the indiscretion.

“Come on, Sara. I was just staring in the entire group’s direction, forgive me for being curious, they are making half the noise in here.” He replied, flatly, looking at her as if she were the one reading too much into things.

At the time, she had reluctantly let the incident pass because his explanation had made sense and he went back to ignoring the group’s presence, including the woman with the long dark brown hair and blue eyes. But then she would notice the woman’s presence several more times of the passing months that it had prompted her to ask the other guys about her. That’s when they spoke of her reputation as being a wrestling groupie as she showed up to many shows including house shows several times a month. That had given her an uneasy feeling as she had caught Mark looking at the woman more than once, but when she asked around, none of the guys seemed to know if she had ever hooked up with Mark.

It wasn’t until she had been speaking with Austin’s wife, Debra that a piece of the puzzle had fallen into her lap. That was when Debra had seen the other woman, while the two women were having drinks in the bar as their men played several rounds of pool.

“Oh god, does that little tramp still hang around?” Debra asked, rolling her eyes the moment she laid eyes on Haley playing darts with the Dudleys.

“It seems so, I’ve been seeing her around more than I care too.” Sara grumbled.

“You should watch out, she use to hang exclusively on Mark back in the day.” Debra warned, leaning near Sara, so no one else would hear them.

“What do you mean? Exclusively?” Sara asked, ready to let Mark have it for lying to her in the first place. Never once had he ever admitted to knowing the girl personally, let alone ‘exclusively’.

“Well she was like his little pet back in his Ministry days. If any of the guys tried sniffing around her, he would go off. I honestly thought he might be falling for her, but maybe it was just territorial, you know?” Debra said matter of factly.

Sara inhaled sharply as her eyes flickered between their husbands playing pool and the ring rat playing darts. Even though it looked as though the chick and D-Von were getting extra friendly, there was an instance that she noticed Mark glare over at the pair. It was subtle enough that anyone else wouldn’t have noticed it, but Sara knew her husband’s expressions very well. Immediately Sara could feel the bottom drop out from her stomach, that one look enough to convince her that he wasn’t fully over his possessiveness of the slut. She just didn’t know if the look was inspired by past history or something more recent.

Thus the moment, the woman had excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, Sara had done the same in order to get a better look at her. However, she would come to regret that decision as the moment she found herself alone with the ring rat, all pretense was dropped.

“What’s the matter, Sara? Starting to figure out that your man’s been lying to you?” Haley asked, as she glanced up at the blonde after washing her hands.

Sara’s breath shuddered as Haley’s words had been chilling to her. The fact that she spoke to her with such familiarity set her ill at ease. Instantly she scowled as Haley looked at her with a sadistic amusement, like a cat batting around a mouse. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” She tried to play dumb. Even as she felt her heart rate increasing in fear and shock.

“Well denial isn’t just a river in Egypt.” Haley retorted, smugly. “I envy you girl, you have something from him that I don’t.” She admitted, leaning against the sink as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“What’s that?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“He seems to love you, while he just seems to enjoy owning me. The first chance he gets, he’ll probably punish me for letting D-Von hug up on me.” She chuckled, though somehow her expression remained unaffected as though she didn’t care if he owned her or not. It was as though she relished the idea of being punished by Mark for whatever indiscretion she made with the other wrestler. Her entire manner was just so casual that Sara couldn’t help believing her. “I think if you let him do all the dirty things he likes to do, he’d probably be happier with you and he’d have no more need for me.”

Sara could feel her stomach begin to churn, she wasn’t a prude, far from it, but she wasn’t some slut either. The idea that her husband was indulging in ‘dirty’ things with this woman, made her imagination run wild. A part of her never wanted Mark to touch her again as it was just so skeevy to even think about, all the things he was doing with a known slut. Instinctively she took a step back, trying to put some distance between herself and the overly casual woman.

“You’re looking a little sick there, Sara. Is something wrong?” Haley asked, pushing off the sink with ease. Sara couldn’t believe how nonchalant the woman was being about the whole situation. Since Sara hadn’t answered her, Haley simply shook her head in amusement as she walked out of the restroom, leaving Sara to absorb the weight of her words.

After that one conversation with Haley, her life fell to pieces as she ended up confronting Mark back at the hotel that night. He tried to deny it, but Sara didn’t believe him. There were too many instances of questionable behavior from him in the past for her to ignore anymore. She knew for a fact that he actively lied to her about the girl in the first place. Nothing he could say would make things right unless he started to lead with the truth, which he never really did. Sara was shaken from her memories as she heard a knock on the door frame of her hospital room. Instinctively she glanced over, but immediately winced as the pain in her neck hit her. After a moment, her eyes refocused on the doorway, only to widened as she realized that Marissa Mazzola-McMahon was standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Sara asked, not even trying to act civil once the initial shock wore off.

“Despite what you think Sara, I didn’t enjoy seeing what happened to you. I’m really sorry that things have come to this, but you really shouldn’t have gotten involved with Heyman and Lesnar.” Marissa said with a sigh. The look in her eyes holding nothing but sincerity, clearly she wasn’t a blood born McMahon as she didn’t enjoy watching anyone’s misery.

“If you have come to lecture me then, you can save your breath.” Sara replied with a grimace as her neck and back were still in pain.

“No, I came here to ask you not to come back to Smackdown. I know Mark hurt you, but Stephanie had nothing to do with that. She’s only defending the man she loves and my sister will stop at nothing to protect the father of her unborn child. You _cannot_ beat her, no matter how hard you try.” Marissa said frankly. “Are you really prepared for all the physical attacks that will happen to you? This one was your warning, if you come back it is only going to get worse.”

Sara could feel her anger flare at Marissa’s words, but she could also see that nothing in Marissa’s demeanor was meant to come off as cocky or even threatening. She was just telling the truth or at least her perception of it. That only made her angrier as it once again left her wondering why Mark could be so loyal to Stephanie that she would protect him so fiercely, yet he couldn’t be bothered to honor his vows to her. He had shit all over every single promise he made to her when they got married and for what, some slut that indulged his kinky fantasies? Now he was devoted to Stephanie McMahon seemingly out of the blue, but then both Brock and Paul had told her the pair had had chemistry from the beginning when Stephanie became an on-air talent for her family’s business.

“Am I really supposed to believe that nothing was ever going on between him and Stephanie?” Sara asked incredulously.

“Is this what it is all about for you? Wondering if they were having an affair? Sara, they really were not. Being newly single is what brought them together. I witnessed those two falling in love with each other over the span of a couple of months.” Marissa couldn’t help but look amused, but her words still held truth to them. “Come on, Sara. You attended events where they were both present, did they ever give you vibes that anything was going on between them back then?” She asked, making Sara really think back on those times she had been with Mark at events, where Stephanie was also present.

Unlike the instances with Haley’s presence, Sara couldn’t really think of any moments that had set off her suspicions. She hadn’t even seen the attraction between them that the others spoke about. Though as her mind went back to the instances with Haley, it finally occurred to her that Haley and Stephanie had a similar aesthetic. Instantly she frowned as the realization fully hit her.

“...Haley was the proxy…” Sara muttered as Marissa looked at her inquisitively.

“What was that?” Marissa asked, since Sara’s words had been low enough not to fully reach her ears.

Sara glanced up at Marissa as the sick sad truth of things really hit her. “It’s always been Stephanie. She may not have been giving him the time of day at the time, but Haley and his other sluts were his little stand ins until he finally got a chance at the real thing.” Sara spat out, her anger growing yet again. 

Marissa merely sighed as she couldn’t really argue that point. She had noticed Haley’s resemblance to Stephanie as well, but she just chalked it up to Mark having a type. She didn’t know for certain if he was using those women as stand-ins or if they were just women who happened to share physical traits he found appealing. “Sara, I get it. You are still hurting from what he has done to you. I’m sorry that he lied to you, broke your heart and your trust, but you can’t keep living in the past. Look at you! You’ve actually stooped to the level of teaming with a woman who remorselessly slept with your ex-husband. How can you really justify that to yourself?”

“Why should he get any happiness?! Why should I sit back and let him have his cake and eat it too? He made me believe that he loved me and this entire time he was carrying a torch for someone else! Tell me why I should let him get what he’s always wanted!” Sara snapped her voice full of pain as the tears stinging at her eyes began to fall. 

“Sara, everyone deserves a chance to change. No one is perfect. There is a very real chance that he could end up hurting my sister, but she’s willing to take that chance on him. I feel for you, Sara. I really do, but I will help them crush you if you persist with this quest for vengeance. Just do yourself a favor and move on with your life. This fixation you have with making Mark suffer is only causing you more pain in the long run.” 

It was clear from the expression on Marissa’s face that she wasn’t being malicious. However she _was_ being brutally honest. Sara inhaled sharply as she wasn’t prepared to listen to reason. She hated Haley’s guts, but she hated Mark far more. She didn’t have to like Haley in order to work with her to make Mark miserable. “You’re wasting your breath, Marissa. I know you aren’t trying to intimidate me, but I don’t have it in me to give Mark a pass for the shit he has done.”

“Well don’t say that no one tried to warn you.” Marissa said softly, before turning on her heels to leave Sara to mull things over.

xXx

He couldn’t stop himself from brooding as he and Stephanie sat in a quiet corner of a nearby restaurant having lunch. He honestly didn’t want to go back to Titan Towers if it meant sitting through more meetings about his personal life. Despite Shane and Stephanie’s idea to offer Haley a job in order to entrap her, he still wasn’t entirely on board with the idea. His mind turning to far darker and more gruesome solutions to their problem.

“Babe?” Stephanie spoke, breaking through his thoughts, instantly he glanced up at her. His expression completely solemn. He merely sighed as he leaned back in his chair, poking at his food with his fork. “Mark, we’ll figure things out. I promise you that.” She added, doing her best to be reassuring to him. Though suddenly she inhaled sharply as she was hit with a stabbing pain in her lower back. Almost immediately she leaned forward closing her eyes, trying to will the pain out of existence as she didn’t have time to be laid up because her body was going funhouse crazy on her with more adjustments for the twins.

“Steph?” Mark’s voice broke through her concentration as his hand landed on her wrist, giving it a squeeze.

Lightly she shook her head. “I’ll be okay.” She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. “Guys _please_ , give mommy a break.” She whispered, placing a hand on her belly. Slowly the pain began to subside enough that she leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh of relief. She could feel Mark squeeze her wrist again, which prompted her to look up at him.

“You shouldn’t even need to be worrying over shit like this right now.” He sighed, his frustration growing as he couldn’t help but be concerned over what all the unwanted stress was doing to Stephanie and their unborn children. Clearly the little ones were showing their displeasure and his fiancée was suffering the effects.

“Baby, my life is anything but stress free. If it wasn’t this, it would be something else. Like the fact that Smackdown is being given the England pay per view this month.” She announced, causing Mark’s gaze to snap up at her as he had glanced away for only a moment.

“What? When did you find this out?” Mark questioned, barely keeping a lid on his anger as the last thing Stephanie needed was to be sent overseas to handle her Smackdown duties.

“Dad told me, before we went into the meeting for damage control on the Haley Diaz situation. The next length of Smackdown’s house shows are going to be overseas. So he figured giving us the England pay per view made the most sense.” She replied, before taking a sip of water.

“Don’t tell me he wants you to go on the European tour, I thought you were just on-screen talent and an executive.” Mark said, his voice coming out strained as he really didn’t want her traveling overseas, while she was carrying their babies.

“Mark, our flight is private charter for this one and you know it. Besides just because I’m normally on-screen talent only, doesn’t mean I don’t do outside appearances. I’m booked for autograph signings and other promotional appearances, while Smackdown does its European tour.” She sighed, wishing he wouldn’t argue with her every time he disagreed with her work related stuff. “Do we have to fight about this? Because I don’t want to have to keep having these arguments over things that are my fucking job!” She snapped, her patience about running thin.

“Steph, I’m not trying to be an asshole here. I know better than anyone how much traveling takes it out of you. Sorry if I don’t want you to have to travel more than absolutely necessary. Especially when I know first hand that there are days you can barely get out of bed and neither of us can predict when those days will happen.” He said frankly, not even trying to hide his concern for her and their children’s well being. After all he had spent the better part of four months taking care of her whenever she was feeling ill.

She sighed, resisting the urge to rub at her face. Instead, opting to push her hair back, before resting her hands on the back of her neck. “Babe...if I thought for one moment that I was putting Connor and Peyton’s health in jeopardy, I would walk away from this job in a heartbeat. I promise you, if things get to be too much, I _will_ step down. In the meantime, I really just need your support. I _need_ to know, you have my back.” She said, letting her hands drop away from her neck.

“Baby, I always have your back. _Always_.” He said firmly, reaching out to touch her cheek. “Even if I don’t always agree with your decisions, I do still have your back. Never doubt that.” He added, his voice softening for her as he lightly grasped her neck.

Instinctively her hand came up to grasp the wrist of the hand that held onto her as they leaned in to kiss each other. “Okay, let’s figure out this Haley business first, then we can worry over the European tour.” She whispered against his lips. He simply nodded in return.

xXx

The moment he had received a call from Haley telling him that the McMahons wanted to meet with her, he knew exactly what they were trying to do. It didn’t take a genius to know the McMahons were looking to own the situation, since Haley was proving to be a wildcard. Heyman wasn’t a fool, he might not have been as successful at running a business as Vince McMahon had been overall, but he did know how to manage a career. There was a reason why he and Brock worked so well together. He had no qualms about taking on Haley as a potential client as he had seen the woman wrestle and knew not only could she take some serious crazy bumps but she could hold her own in the ring. He highly doubted that Taker ever realized that his ‘ring rat’ was more than just a groupie. 

While Heyman had known Mark for years, the one constant that he could see in the man was his ability to be incredibly self-centered. It was a major flaw that had bitten the big man on the ass more than once. It was being self-centered that had managed to destroy his marriages in the first place, but it was the relationships with women like Haley that proved just how selfish the Phenom could be. He had done nothing but take and take some more from women like Haley, just because they were willing to indulge him. Thus Heyman felt no remorse for finding as many of those girls as possible. If only to prove that Mark wasn’t as stand up as he liked to portray himself in the business. 

Now the McMahons were looking to silence one of Mark’s most vocal detractors. Heyman refused to sit back and allow them to do that to her. Despite Brock telling him that he didn’t want any of the girls to accompany him for the next Smackdown, Heyman wasn’t prepared to let their chess pieces be taken away. So he found himself sitting in Vince McMahon’s office with Haley seated beside him. Admittedly the woman cleaned up well as she wore a suit as nicely tailored as any of the ones that Stephanie and Marissa wore on television, while her hair was slicked back into a high ponytail. Though one could definitely see by the bruising on her face and neck that she had not come out of her encounter with the Dudleys unscathed. However he had to commend her poker face as her expression gave nothing away as she quietly observed her surroundings.

After a lengthy wait, Vince finally appeared with Shane and Stephanie following behind him. The three McMahons also wearing poker faces, but Heyman still knew their game. This was personal for the lot of them considering Mark Calaway wasn’t just one of their biggest long term draws for the company, but he was also a member of their family. Taking his advice Haley had only released enough information to whet the media’s appetite, thus they held the cards if the McMahons didn’t want Haley to give away anymore of Mark’s deep dark secrets to the public.

“Sorry for the wait, some other business came up at the last moment.” Vince apologized, though he didn’t sound very sincere. Heyman and Haley merely glanced at each other before looking back at Vince with neutral expressions.

“No worries, Mr McMahon. My client, Ms Diaz is a very patient woman.” He replied smoothly. Haley merely smirked as she crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. “However, she does question why you would call her here. We are both aware that you all just think of her as some sort of groupie.” 

Stephanie frowned in spite of herself, though she managed not to roll her eyes at Paul’s statement. “On the contrary, we were all struck by the way she handled herself on Smackdown last week. Not only the stunt she was able to pull off by jumping off the barricade, but that bump she took from D-Von Dudley. It lead us to finding out her history on the independent circuit.” Vince replied in his ever present business voice.

“Cut to the chase, Vince. Ms Diaz’s time is a precious commodity.” Heyman stately flatly, causing Vince to give him a flat stare.

“I don’t doubt that, so why don’t we get down to brass tacks here. There’s some things that both you and Ms Diaz should see.” Vince replied with a smile as Shane and Stephanie handed the pair a folder each.

Both Heyman and Haley warily opened their respective folders. Immediately Heyman frowned, while Haley glanced up at Vince McMahon with a knowing stare. Lightly she shook her head as she glanced over to Heyman, before they both returned their gazes to the McMahons. Of course, all three of them were looking like predators. Heyman inhaled sharply readying himself for the pending battle, while Haley kept a neutral expression. As a masochist and a sadist, she was prepared for the onslaught that was about to happen, despite their apparent upper hand, she was determined to make things go her way.

xXx

As Smackdown was kicking off, the fans were treated to a recap of the events that transpired the week before, both with the standing of the tournament as well as the attack on the Undertaker during his triple threat match and the return of the Dudleys to the blue brand. It was pointed out to the audience that Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker would have to co-exist in their semi-finals match against Edge and Rey Mysterio. While Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit would be taking on Los Guerreros in the other semi-finals match for the WWE tag team titles. Though first the mystery woman from last week, who had been revealed to be a woman named Haley Diaz by unnamed sources would be making her first official appearance.

The moment she walked out to the top of the ramp accompanied by Paul Heyman, both received a massive wave of boos. However there were some actual cheers mixed in as there were some fans just shallow enough to cheer for the pretty woman. Not everyone was in the know about her, but many were made aware of the fact that she had past romantic ties to the Undertaker. As they entered the ring, it was evident by her appearance that she wasn’t a valet given the wrestling gear she was actually wearing. While both her and Paul were still looking rough from the injuries they suffered at the hands of the Dudleys, they clearly weren’t letting it stop them.

“I know many of you are wondering who this beautiful woman is, but as her agent. I have to tell you that Haley Diaz is _more_ than just a pretty face.” He announced with a smirk, before handing over the microphone to her.

Haley took the offered mic, taking a deep breath before finally speaking. “I don’t think this will come as a shock to anyone, but clearly the Undertaker and I have some past history. Frankly I despise the man, but I fully admit that I’m also a petty bitch and I don’t like being passed over.” She said, her expression darkening. She looked directly at the camera as she spoke her next words. “As far as what happened with the Dudleys last week, I hope you guys don’t think I’m going to forget about that. We also have a past history and I don’t appreciate you putting your hands on me.”

The Dudleys’ pyrotechnics went off followed by their music as the three men made their way up on the ramp. Bubba Ray and D-Von scowling, while Spike looked completely unimpressed. “Last I checked, you insinuated yourself in our match and you paid the price! Past history or not, we ain’t gonna take your crap. You of all people should know how we operate!” Bubba Ray said frankly, receiving a huge pop from the crowd.

“I know exactly how you operate, Bubba! Brock’s busy tonight but I got an open card. So you three bring your asses to this ring tonight and me and my boys will put your asses out!” She challenged to the surprise of the crowd.

“You want a piece of the Dudleys tonight?” Bubba Ray asked with a snare.

"You’re damn straight!” She snapped back.

“You got it! We’ll be damn glad to put your tramp ass through another table. So bring whoever you want, cause we got enough wood for everyone!” Bubba accepted as he, D-Von and Spike walked off stage to the roaring approval of the crowd.

“They’re going to be out for blood for sure on behalf of the McMahons.” Heyman whispered to Haley. He knew first hand how brutal and sadistic the Dudleys could be, especially under orders from those who held the power.

“I know, Paul. They got the upper hand right now, but I’m not out of this yet.” She whispered back, tossing her mic to one of the crew members before climbing out of the ring.

Meanwhile backstage Mark was sitting in Stephanie’s office watching the monitor along with her, Shane and Marissa. He really hated every second of seeing Haley and Heyman out in the ring, even if they were deflecting the heat toward the Dudleys. Despite Vince holding some personal information over her head, Mark wasn’t convinced that she was going to cooperate the way the McMahons wanted her too. He knew Haley to be super stubborn, it was one of the reasons he got mixed up with her in the first place, because she always presented herself as a challenge even when she would eventually submit to him.

“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” He muttered. Marissa gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder as she agreed with him, but she had been overruled on the subject.

“Just focus on your match tonight, Mark. We’ll keep handling her.” Shane assured him. This wasn’t the first time the McMahons had to deal with scandals, they knew how to navigate those kinds of waters and they would protect Stephanie and her soon to be husband, no matter what the cost.

xXx

By the time Heyman made it back to the locker room, he was greeted to the sight of an annoyed Brock Lesnar, pacing back and forth. He already knew that things with Brock were getting tricky as the kid was starting to let his fiancée get into his head. Heyman knew the moment that Brock said he was going out to the ring alone this Smackdown that Nicole had a hand in that decision. It was hard not to be annoyed by her meddling, but Heyman was willing to take it in stride. After all he hadn’t put all his eggs into one basket. Brock was the next big thing, that he was sure of, but he still had his eyes on others that he could potentially represent if things went south with the champ.

“Paul, I don’t like this! How is it that, Taker’s ex-skank is now a contracted wrestler for the WWE?” Brock asked, finally stopping the pacing to glare at Heyman.

“What do you think, Brock? We all got things in our past that we want to keep buried. They managed to uncover some things beyond her ring rat reputation that she doesn’t want exposed.” Heyman said frankly.

Brock sighed heavily, completely frustrated with how things were turning into such a huge clusterfuck. Digging for leverage on Taker had lead to his own fiancée and unborn children being exposed and now Paul was telling him that they got into the ring rat’s past. “When does this shit end? I want to keep my title, but all these tricks of yours just keep backfiring!” He snapped.

“Hey give me credit, they may not pan out exactly as planned, but it has kept the title on you.” Heyman defended himself. “And if you guys win this tag team match tonight, you won’t have to face him one on one until Survivor Series. By then, I’ll have gotten enough ammunition together to put a bigger hurting on both Taker and Stephanie McMahon.” He added in a low voice, so that no one would overhear him.

Brock simply huffed, not even sure he wanted to know what Heyman had planned next given how things kept getting more and more twisted. Lightly he shook his head, wondering if maybe he should start going things alone, rather than deal with having an agent.

xXx

Despite Benoit and Angle’s own hatred of each other, the pair had proven to be a formidable team just like Stephanie knew they would be as she watched them gain the win over Eddie and Chavo. It had been a good match, Eddie and Chavo had put up a valiant effort but not even their dirty tactics could get them past Benoit and Angle. Now if Brock and Taker could win their match against Edge and Rey Mysterio, the finals that she had been hoping for would take place at No Mercy.

“Edge and Rey are a solid team, but I think Brock and Taker will overpower them. Even if Sara shows up tonight, Brock and Taker will win it.” Shane told Stephanie as he glanced over to his sister watching the screen intently.

“On paper, Brock and Taker do have the upper hand, but I can’t count out Edge and Rey, they have both beat bigger men in the past.” Stephanie replied flatly, leaning back in her chair.

“True, but neither have wins over Lesnar. And well Edge only has some technical tag team wins over Taker, since inference and other teams were involved in those wins.” Shane chimed back in, as he remembered the feuds that they had with the deadman that involved Edge and Christian back in the day.

Stephanie nodded, remembering some of the instances of Edge working with the faction as well as the two man power trip back in the day. Marissa merely laughed listening to Stephanie and Shane’s conversation.

“Boy, how times have changed. If anyone told me two years ago that I would be friends with Mark Calaway and that Stephanie would be engaged to him and pregnant with his child in the future. I would have told them they were insane. You two were so awful to him and he was awful right back to both of you.” She laughed, lightly shaking her head at the irony of the situation.

“Sis, I would have said the same. Two years ago, I thought Hunter was the one...” Stephanie sighed, trailing off as she thought of the past four years. “But if I am being honest, Hunter only managed to woo me, because Mark blew his first chance with me.” She admitted, momentarily stunning both Marissa and Shane.

“Wait, when was there something going on with you and Mark?” Shane asked confused.

“Come on, Shane. Don’t be dense. Mark and I rode together the weekend he ‘kidnapped’ me at the end of Backlash back in April of 99.” Stephanie reminded him. 

Shane's eyes widened as he hadn't really considered that anything had happened back then, since the story went off the way their father wanted it to. Despite both him and Stephanie both pitching that it should have been them in cahoots backing Taker all along. "So are you telling us that you two hooked up back then?" He asked, wanting clarification of things.

“We didn’t hook up, Shane. Mark blow his chance of that happening.”

“How’d he do that, sis?” Marissa asked curiously.

“Mark did make a move, but he immediately got cold feet and backed off. I took it as a personal slight against me back then. It’s not really a secret that I don’t take rejection well and I was four years younger, way more insecure with one hell of a temper.” She explained, while toying with her engagement ring, rotating the platinum band with a beautifully cut diamond around her finger.

Both Shane and Marissa were surprised that she had kept that secret to herself for so long. Usually she would confide in one of them, if not both of them. “Why didn’t you ever say anything to us back then?” Shane asked with a frown marring his features.

“That would have required me to be honest with myself and admit that he had hurt my feelings back then. I would have also had to admit to myself that I wanted him.”

“Ahh, sis...this just adds more layers to your relationship with him. No wonder you two fell so hard and so fast. It’s always been there, it was just lying dormant.” Marissa replied with a sympathetic smile. There was definitely a level of serendipity to Stephanie and Mark reconnecting after the demise of their respective relationships.

Stephanie let out an amused scoff at Marissa’s words. “Yeah, you hit the nail on the head there.” She replied, resting her hands on her baby bump. She couldn’t help but feel amused at how things had worked out for her and Mark in regards to their relationship.

xXx

Midway through Smackdown, it was time for the Dudleys to face off against Haley and her mystery tag partners. The Dudleys got to come out first, much to the delight of the crowd, who were already chanting, ‘We want tables!’ at them as they got into the ring. The noise from the crowd only died down a little as Haley and Heyman were announced, the pair walked out on the top of the ramp, followed by Rhyno and A-Train. The crowd immediately having a mixed reaction as they knew both men would be a challenge for the Dudleys, but they wanted to see them lose anyway.

Heyman merely gave a sadistic smile as the trio ran down the ramp to the ring and slipped under the bottom rope to begin fighting with the Dudleys. The referee immediately called for the bell as he attempted to get some order in the match. Bubba Ray and A-Train ended up starting the match as the other four reluctantly went to their respective corners. Despite Haley being the only woman in the match, she took it in stride, seemingly unfazed and unafraid of what the Dudleys could do to her again. The fact that she only had a few bruises from her encounter with the Dudleys the week before spoke volumes for her toughness in the ring.

It take long for the match to break down again as D-Von and Spike took exception to A-Train, Rhyno and Haley triple teaming on Bubba Ray as they had him isolated in their corner. Thus they got off their side of the apron and ran around on the outside of the ring with Spike pulling Haley off the apron as D-Von grabbed Rhyno. Soon the four of them were brawling on the outside of the ring, while Bubba and A-Train fought on the inside. Rhyno and Haley managed to push D-Von and Spike into each other as both men went for Irish whips only to have them reversed, so they would collide instead. Rhyno speared D-Von as Haley bulldogged Spike on the floor. The referee jumped out of the ring to get order back into the match, during the distraction Heyman jumped on the apron to yell at Bubba Ray, calling him a traitor for working with the McMahons. 

“Shut up!” Bubba Ray snapped, shoving Heyman off the apron, only to be met with a chair to the head from A-Train. Quickly he tossed the chair away and picked Bubba Ray up for the De-Railer. The crowd booed loudly as Haley shoved the referee back in the ring to do the three count. Though Bubba Ray managed to kick out at the two count. Heyman immediately pitched a fit, angry that the Dudleys were still in the match.

Spike managed to fling Haley into the steel steps, causing her knees to slam into the metal before she flipped over them entirely landing on her back. As the referee got out of the ring to check on her, Spike and D-Von double teamed Rhyno on the outside of the ring. Suddenly the crowd erupted as Taker came out of the audience on A-Train’s blindside, slipping under the ropes and hitting the other big guy with a boot to the face, knocking him down to the mat with a huge thud. Suddenly Taker jumped out of the ring and began chasing Heyman up the ramp as D-Von slipped into the ring. Within seconds, A-Train was getting hit with the Dudley death drop as Bubba Ray covered the heavily pierced man. The referee jumped back into the ring to do the three count, declaring the Dudleys the winners of the match to the delight of the crowd.

The cameraman managed to catch up with Heyman and Taker in the back, only to find Heyman cowering behind Lesnar as he and the Phenom stood face to face.

“Go back to the locker room, Paul. I don’t need you ringside tonight.” Brock said firmly, keeping his gaze on Taker as he spoke. 

“Are you sure?” Heyman asked.

“I got this!” Brock snapped as he finally glanced over his shoulder at his portly agent. Heyman merely held his hands up in surrender as he slowly backed away. “It’s just you and me, dead man. So are we going to beat down Edge and Mysterio or are we going to have it out right here and now?”

Taker merely glared as he really wanted to smash Brock’s face in, but they still had that suspension clause hanging over their heads. “I’ll see you in the ring for our match against Edge and Mysterio, champ. You just be sure to bring your A game.” Taker scoffed, spinning around on heel and walking off in a huff.

“Oh man, Cole, the tension between the champ and the dead man is so thick you can cut it with a knife.” Tazz said as the cameras cut back to the commentator’s table.

“You’re telling me, Tazz! One has to wonder how they are going to fare in their semi-finals match tonight!”

“Something tells me that Edge and Mysterio are gonna have their hands full with Taker and Brock. Both guys look like they’re in a bad mood!” Tazz replied as the show went to a commercial break.

xXx

By the time the show returned from the commercial break, Edge and Mysterio were in the ring waiting for their opponents and Taker was in the middle of his motorcycle entrance to the approval of the crowd. Finally Brock’s music hit and he stepped out onto the top of the ramp by himself.

“Here comes the pain!” Tazz called out as he and Michael Cole continued their commentary. Brock coming down to the ring by himself, seemed to get more cheers from the crowd as they took it as a sign that he would be cooperating with his tag team partner tonight. Though he and Taker did stare each other down, before Brock gestured that he would go first this time around. So Taker and Rey got out of the ring as the bell rang and Brock and Edge locked it up.

Even though Edge and Rey were the smaller team and considered the underdogs, they put up a good fight, making Brock and Taker work to get a win over them. The crowd seemed to be split on who they wanted to win, booing when Rey would get manhandled by either Brock or Taker, but also cheering when Brock tried to go for the F-5 on Edge, though Rey quickly made the save. After fifteen minutes of the momentum going back and forth, which saw Rey hit the 619 on Lesnar, only to get a boot to the face from Taker, quickly followed by Edge spearing Taker down to the mat and ultimately the match ending when Brock finally hit the F-5 on Edge for the pinfall.

The crowd practically erupted again as Brock and Taker were declared the winners of the match and it was announced that they would be facing Chris Benoit and Kurt Angle on Sunday at No Mercy in the finals of the WWE tag team title tournament.

“Tune in to No Mercy on Sunday to see which team will be crowned the inaugural WWE tag team champions!” Michael Cole told the audience at home as the program signed off.


End file.
